Re: A pk is *both* a physical and a logical object.
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:27:39 -0700
Message-ID: <1185355659.582994.59190_at_k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com>
On Jul 24, 8:27 am, "Brian Selzer" <br..._at_selzer-software.com> wrote:
> "JOG" <j..._at_cs.nott.ac.uk> wrote in message
>
> news:1185211122.628701.219130_at_g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > On Jul 23, 3:57 pm, "Brian Selzer" <br..._at_selzer-software.com> wrote:
> >> [snip]
> >> I don't miss the point: I dismiss it not only because it is a gross
> >> oversimplification based upon faulty assumptions but also because it is
> >> incorrect.
>
> > I have no faulty assumptions, but feel free to try and knock something
> > down specifically. It is good practice for me to defend a standpoint,
> > even a solid one. However, as ever, I only post because I think I
> > might be able to help.
>
> >> Although a key value identifies (or is a surrogate for) an
> >> individual in the Universe of Discourse, it is not correct to assume that
> >> the same key value identifies the same individual at every database value
> >> in
> >> which it appears.
> >> Here's proof: given a relation schema with two keys, one
> >> whose values rigidly designate individuals and one whose values represent
> >> non-rigid definite descriptions for individuals,
>
> > "non-rigid definite desciptions for individuals". This makes no sense,
> > but this is probably a symptom of the points below.
>
> >> there can be a tuple in
> >> each of two possible relation values that has the same value for the
> >> rigid
> >> key, but different values for the non-rigid key.
>
> > Forget the database - it starts way before then brian, back in real
> > life, when we are stating propositions about the item types of which
> > we speak. It is how we can permanently identify these items when we
> > talk about them that defines what they are. It has nothing to do with
> > keys, which just identify propositions - by the time you get to the RM
> > the mistake has already happened.
>
> "The right front tire on my car is going flat."
>
> "The tire with serial number BC324J5367 is going flat."
These are different things. "What", you no doubt cry, "of course they're the same bloody thing". Well, consider that I also tell the mechanic:
"The right front tyre on my car always goes flat"
The current overlap I have with tyre BC324j5637 is lost. The two constructs are not the same thing over time, and hence should not be encoded in a database as such. The design should consider which is appropriate - the construct of a tyre with a code identifier, or the construct of a tyre with a position identifier.
Note that change over time is not the only example of this being an issue.
>
> Both of these statements state that a particular tire is going flat;
> however, the first depends upon the current state of affairs to identify the
> tire, whereas the second does not. The first employs a non-rigid definite
> description, and the second a rigid definite description, since the serial
> number is part of the physical makeup of the tire.
> Obviously, the first
> statement is what I would tell my mechanic, not the second. Who in their
> right mind would get out of the car and clean off all of the mud so that the
> tire can be examined to determine what the serial number is?
> Now, I
> understand that as soon as the tire is replaced, or as soon as the tires are
> rotated, or as soon as I trade in my car, "the right front tire on my car"
> denotes a different tire.
>
> The point is that a description need not be rigid to be definite. It may
> also be the case that the serial number of the tire is not relevant to the
> problem at hand. Its absence from the database schema does not necessarily
> mean that it does not exist. It certainly doesn't mean that "the right
> front tire on my car" denotes the same tire in all possible states of
> affairs.
>
> >> Here each individual has
> >> two sets of identifying properties: one that identifies the individual at
> >> all possible states of affairs and one that identifies the individual at
> >> a
> >> particular state of affairs.
>
> > Utterly and totally incorrect. A construct that is one thing (i.e. has
> > the same identity) "over all its possible states" is a completely
> > different kettle of fish to an item which is only the "same thing in
> > one state". They are different constructs, with different identifiers
> > - even if they overlap.
>
> I beg to differ. The combination of a non-rigid definite description and
> the rest of the information about a particular state of affairs rigidly
> designates a particular individual. One alternative to using surrogates
> where keys can be updated is to record for each tuple in a separate set of
> attributes the key value that identified an individual when it was
> originally inserted along with the transaction time of the original insert.
> Since only one tuple can have a particular key value at a particular point
> in time, the original key value when combined with the original insertion
> time permanently identifies the individual.
Yes that would be fine in terms of uniqueness - There is a symmettric functional dependency between a tyre id and its position at a specified time.
However in the real world, the "position at a specified time" key would be impossible to determine if you just found a tyre on the floor. The attribute is not an adequate identifier because it requires historical knowledge that one might not possess. Identity occurs outside of the database.
> In this case the original key
> value represents the non-rigid definite description that identified the
> individual at the state of affairs denoted by the original insertion time.
> Once an individual is identified, everything else that is true about it can
> be determined, including other rigid designators.
>
> > (This explains how I am both the same person _and_ a different person
> > to the picture of me as a ten year old. The concept of a person type
> > has two different constructions, with different identifers. I can
> > quickly flick between the two interpretations in real life by
> > assessing the context of any particular question)
>
> > Which of these constructs is applicable depends on the context,
> > situation and application. If you have picked the wrong one when you
> > are designing a schema, well then, eventually your database will break
> > (as I know you have seen and remedied yourself in the past).
>
> > I think this is pretty much the whole sticking point so for now i have
> > snipped the rest.
>
> > Regards, Jim.
>
> >> [huge snip]
Received on Wed Jul 25 2007 - 11:27:39 CEST