Re: Storing data and code in a Db with LISP-like interface

Alvin Ryder wrote:
[snip]
> But once we try to capture the "meaning" of data to provide more
> intelligence in the db, we enter a wide open never ending pursuit. Now
> we are not using sets in a blind way.
[/snip]

Hi Alvin, apologies for the ruthless snip, but I have seen this sort of sentiment so many times that it becomes frustrating. Data has no meaning to a pc. It is just data. Computers simply cannot 'do' meaning - understanding of semantics requires embodiment in the appropriate domain. This situatedness is such a complex problem that AI is decades, if not hundreds of years, from solving it. As such, anything with cliche's such as 'bridging the semantic gap' or 'providing meaning' in the title is currently fool's gold.

Data models describe things for us. The best ones do so with solid theoretical basis such as RDM, but that is all they do. Received on Tue May 02 2006 - 01:00:53 CEST