Re: Definitions Needed - AST = Automatic Summary Tables; VSS = Very Strong Suggestion

Gene Wirchenko wrote:

> I am reading through dbdebunk.com. In one article (On system
> Tables <http://www.dbdebunk.com/page/page/622812.htm>), there are a
> couple of terms that I can not find definitions for: AST and VSS.
> Here is the context with the terms marked with asterisks:
>
> "*****ASTs***** are mostly hidden from the users (although you can
> query them directly) and are a showcase for the power of optimization
> and declarative data access, so I say they are good. Also they have
> the potential to remove the data warehouse/data mart split that is
> good and also lessen the advantages of dimensional DBMS systems,
> which, you’ll agree are much further from the RM than SQL. It’s a
> shame that generated columns aren’t as transparent as *****ASTs*****,
> but then you could always restrict access via views to remove the data
> redundancy from the users perspective (and also stop them from trying
> to update generated columns), and at there are much better than
> getting ‘the application’ (now there’s a misnomer) to maintain such
> redundant data.

As in the rewritten subject, I think in the context, AST stands for Automatic Summary Tables, and not Abstract Syntax Trees as I first wrote.

> SQL stored procedures provide computational completeness in the
> database. A *****VSS***** if not a prescription?"

The VSS is a very strong suggestion (as found in TTM - The Third Manifesto), as contrasted with a Prescription or Proscription.

-- 
Jonathan Leffler                   #include <disclaimer.h>
Email: jleffler_at_earthlink.net, jleffler_at_us.ibm.com
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