Re: pro- foreign key propaganda?

"Bob Badour" <bbadour_at_pei.sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:4836f382$0$4031$9a566e8b_at_news.aliant.net...
> David Cressey wrote:
>
> > "paul c" <toledobysea_at_ac.ooyah> wrote in message
> > news:5RzZj.289321$pM4.276671_at_pd7urf1no...
> >
> >>David Cressey wrote:
> >>...
> >>
> >>>This may be true. But with regard to the value of data in databases,
and
> >>>the return on the effort involved in building, maintaining, and
accessing
> >
> >>>them, you can't separate meaning from purpose. And you can't separate
> >>>purpose from outcome. Call me a mystic, if you must.
> >>>
> >>>If poetry includes Homer's Iliad, there is quite a bit of mechanics
> >>>involved in the making of it.
> >>
> >>I don't argue with that and from what you've said I wouldn't call you a
> >>mystic. I was scoffing at the penchant for looking for meaning in a
> >>data design where none was intended. If one doesn't know the intended
> >>interpretation, it is a mug's game to guess at it, the design is only
> >>capable of restricting some of the possible intentions.
> >>
> >>(I'd say the mechanics of poetry aren't part of what you call the rdm.)
> >
> > Agreed. I just don't want poetry to be relegated to the domain of
mystics,
> > and databases to be relegated to the domain of mechanics. Mechanics are
> > important to doing things right, no matter what you're doing. Doing
things
> > right is kind of a waste, if you're not doing the right thing. And
figuring
> > out what the right thing is can seem downright mystical. At least, so
it
> > seems to me.
>
> I think it only seems that way before one knows what metrics to use.
> Once one understands what to measure, everything becomes much more
> mechanical.

Well, how do you tell a good metric from a bad one? Received on Fri May 23 2008 - 20:30:13 CEST