Re: Announcing New Blog

From: Jay Dee <ais01479_at_aeneas.net>
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 12:28:49 GMT
Message-ID: <5q5zf.16556$tK4.1570@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com>

mountain man wrote:
> "Christopher Browne" <cbbrowne_at_acm.org> wrote in message
> news:m3slrnsfd8.fsf_at_mobile.int.cbbrowne.com...
>

>>>Database systems is an evolving environment.
>>>Date's pedagogy on the RM is not.
>>>It has been static for nigh on 30 years.
>>
>>The thing is, pedagogy needs to connect with theory.
>>

Just as practice needs to connect to reality -- as illuminated through theory.

>>I don't see that relational theory has materially progressed in the
>>last twenty years.

>
> It hasn't.

Think of it as you do our understanding of gravity; once you get it right, there's no need to change it.

>>In a way, it's like the challenge of getting a Ph.D in Shakespearean
>>literature.  Doing a Ph.D requires having something new and novel to
>>say about the area of study.  As you approach 500 years since the
>>death of the author, it gets increasingly difficult to find anything
>>new.

> Database systems are not the product of one author
> and are constantly evolving; the theory is not keeping
> pace.

Please don't confuse database implementations with theory. Few systems have succeeded in reaching first base.

>>I don't see that anything much new has come up lately that would cause
>>Date's pedagogy to need to change.  Every couple years I browse TODS
>>and basically see nothing that seems of practical importance, and even
>>less that extends the RM.

>
>
>
> Database systems since the late 90's have acquired a class
> of objects termed stored procedures. Essentially these are
> program objects written in the SQL of the RDBMS and
> are stored within the database.
>
> There is in progress a migration of lines of code from the
> application software environment (external to the database)
> to the stored procedure environment (internal to the database)
> and this needs to be recognised.
>
> We need a theory not just of the data, but of the data
> and its processing, which will address stored procedure
> objects (ie: processes) which are today, and not 30 years
> ago, capable of being stored and managed within the
> database systems environment.

For this, I suggest Eric Hehner.

>
> Here are some relevant articles with further info:
>
> http://www.mountainman.com.au/software/history/relational_model_incomplete.htm
> and
> http://www.mountainman.com.au/software/Theory_of_Organizational_Intelligence.htm
Received on Tue Jan 17 2006 - 06:28:49 CST