Re: theory and practice: ying and yang

"Alan" <fake_address2001_at_hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1117027211.007077.137440_at_z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> mountain man wrote:
>> "Alfredo Novoa" <alfredo_novoa_at_hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> > 3) Date openly admits that current (RM) theory is not understood
>> by database professionals.
>>
>
> Date can't "admit" anything for anyone else. He may "suspect" or
> "theorize" that RM theory is not undrestood by others. It may seem a
> trivial distinction in language, but the connotation is not trivial.

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/databaseid/chapter/ch01.pdf

In the article above, Date writes:

"The RM certainly isn't very well or very widely understood in the database community at large"

[IMO its just Date's standard 30 y/o sales pitch]

> Couple of questions (I take no stand on the answers):
> Is understanding theory important if the practice result
> implementation) is correct?

IMO, technically, both theory and practice are evolving disciplines, neither are static. The question, "Can it be done any better?" necessarily (IMO) should always to be placed on a cyclic task schedule.

Therefore, technically IMO, a "correct" implementation can always be incremented, little by little, to be an even more correct implementation, in a variety of ways.

Experience and theory guide such evolution and eventual development. So while theory may not be important in order to obtain a "correct result", it is certainly important in trying to leverage this result into the state of excellence.

> If the results are correct, does this not
> imply that the theory is understood?

...[trim]...

Not necessarily --- see above, for example.

However, I also observe that the principles of the RM are in the public domain, are reasonably straight-forward and certainly make a lot of common sense.

Date looks at the RM as a "small branch of mathematics" and consequently, if you have developed specific training in any of the branches of mathematics, its operational principles are capable of being assimilated quickly, sometimes even unconsciously, especially in an active (R)DBMS environment.

Pete Brown
Falls Creek
Oz
www.mountainman.com.au Received on Thu May 26 2005 - 13:11:08 CEST