Re: A database theory resource - ideas

Bob Badour wrote:
> paul c wrote:

>> ...
>> One phenomenon hasn't changed since I've been around.  Since the late 
>> 1960's when the machinery cost more than people, to now when the 
>> opposite is true, it's still the case that 9 out of 10 people working 
>> in IT are more or less incompetent and even if they can apply a 
>> technique will never be able to justify if the application is 
>> appropriate.  This is also probably true of less technical fields, but 
>> those are less crucial to society.

I'll grant that my idea of competence is exaggerated compared to what most people accept. In his 1979 paper, Codd talks about what I think of as maintenance problems and tries to bend his original model around them. I say when two companies merge, they might need a superstar arbitrager but they definitely need a handful of people who can change massive amounts of code overnight following a reliable spec, which is likely ruthless too, that they wrote the night before. That is a kind of elite competence which is rare but can be bought with the help of an adviser who can see through the phonies who apply for such gigs and the big-time consultancies who want to make the assignment perpetual.

p Received on Sat Mar 17 2007 - 15:55:09 CET