Re: Why all the max length constraints?

"Tony D" <tonyisyourpal_at_netscape.net> wrote in message news:1148915599.805242.80480_at_y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> You have to
> remember that Codd explicitly didn't say anything about physical
> representation, and very little about types (apart from an unfortunate
> use of the word "atomic

I don't think his use of the term "atomic" was in any way unfortunate. It is hard to think of a better word. It very clearly conveys what was surely his intention, which was: whatever value appears at the intersection of a row and a column will be treated as if it has no internal structure.

What is unfortunate is that he left us to infer his intended meaning rather than stating it explicitly, so a great deal of superstition and folklore has sprung up in the the gap.

Roy Received on Mon May 29 2006 - 18:12:47 CEST