Re: theory and practice: ying and yang

"Kenneth Downs" <knode.wants.this_at_see.sigblock> wrote in message news:7vu5n2-g92.ln1_at_pluto.downsfam.net...
> mountain man wrote:

>>> You then proceed to the claim that the UI can "ride" the table
>>> structures
>>> and provide complete workability. That at least is how I term that kind
>>> of
>>> UI, which our system also implements. In this system, the menu lists
>>> tables. You work on data in tables, and on the detail screen for each
>>> table are hyperlinks to drill down (or up) to child (or parent) tables,
>>> with appropriate intelligence making the results of those drill down/ups
>>> useful to the user.
>>>
>>> BUT, you cannot then conclude that this is the "One true UI".
>>
>> I dont think I have used the term "one true UI", or even "UI".
>> Can you provide a page reference somewhere, as I dont
>> quite follow. I have used the term User Interface and also
>> the term OI - Organisational Intelligence (defn = sum(data)+
>> sum(source code)), but not UI.
>>
>>
>
> I took this inference from your own site, this page in particular:
>
> http://www.mountainman.com.au/software/southwind/
>
> Where all of the links I looked at showed tabular information. The term
> "one true UI" is definitely my own characterization of what I thought you
> were saying, and is probably overly harsh and undeserved.

Well all the links do show tabular information, this data is being drawn from multiple tables (even multiple databases) by stored procedures, and presented as a data set - or if you like, a report --- tailor made to suit the requirement.

It is true that the tool I have constructed is the only user interface to the system, and does not change from industry to industry, and such may be termed a universal interface --- or probably a "portal".

But it is only an example of what may be constructed, a prototype --- nothing earth-shattering.

> So perhaps I should fall back to that question: Once the DB is
> implementing
> all rules, what is the role of the other layers?

Presenting information to the user base by means of reports and enquiries, at the appropriate times according to the work-flow patterns of the enterprise, enabling users to maintain data across the database according to their application requirements.

If the application layer can be bound within the DB, and the DB now services this role, there will *not* be the need for any further layers.

-- 
Pete Brown
IT Managers & Engineers
Falls Creek
Australia
www.mountainman.com.au