[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: Caught napping!
> -----Original Message----- > From: PaulT [mailto:pault12@p...] > Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 4:13 PM > To: Joe English; xml-dev@l... > Subject: Re: Caught napping! > > > > Fabian Pascal > > goes on at length about how SQL is a poor shadow > > of the true Relational Model, but I can't seem to > > find any specific criticisms on his web site. > > (Presumably he goes into detail in one of his > > books, but I'm reluctant to shell out the cash.) Masochist that I am, I've read a good bit of the stuff on his website. Back in the good ol' days when Fabian was beating up on the SQL people (I confess, that's why I started reading his site in the first place; Poetic justice for me!) rather than the XML people, there were a number of posts: Look at http://www.firstsql.com/dbdebunk/fp4a.htm (fortunately for our self-images, Don Chamberlin and Peter Chen are almost as stupid as we are <grin> ) and http://www.firstsql.com/dbdebunk/cjd6a.htm http://www.firstsql.com/dbdebunk/fp2a.htm As far as I recall, the big issues that Date (who actually understands the math, and explains things very well; his little THE DATABASE RELATIONAL MODEL is the one book to buy if you have $10 and a couple of hours to invest in understanding the relational model) and Pascal (who appears to take whatever Date says on faith) have with SQL have to do with NULLs, duplicate records (the bag vs set issue mentioned by Joe English), the fact that it is semi-procedural rather than purely declarative perhaps, and something to do with a lack of proper support for integrity constraints. Almost all links are to their own books rather than anything openly available on the internet, so it would cost someone a couple of hundred dollars to actually check out their various claims to have demolished SQL .... Hmmm ... new (?) item for the Cluetrain Manifesto: if you want people to truly understand what you have to say, put it up on the Internet ...and if you want to claim wisdom you don't really have, whine at people to buy your books.
|
PURCHASE STYLUS STUDIO ONLINE TODAY!Purchasing Stylus Studio from our online shop is Easy, Secure and Value Priced! Download The World's Best XML IDE!Accelerate XML development with our award-winning XML IDE - Download a free trial today! Subscribe in XML format
|