Re: dbdebunk 'Quote of Week' comment

On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 12:47:41 +0300, "x" <x_at_not-exists.org> wrote:

[snip]

>The quote does not mention if the key is generated by the DBMS or by the
>application.
>It only say that it has no meaning for the end user.
>
>This means that there must be a one to one mapping between the generated key
>and some key with a meaning for the end user. Therefore that meaningless
>primary key is a pointer. But one of the goals of the relational model is to

     No. It is a key value. Unless it states where the data is located (as in storage medium location (i.e. address)), it is not a pointer.

>eliminate pointers from the data model.

     "pointers" not "keys".

[snip]

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko Received on Mon Aug 29 2005 - 22:25:36 CEST