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RE: functional databases noodling ...

• From: "Jim Tivy" <jimt@bluestream.com>
• To: "'Michael Sokolov'" <sokolov@ifactory.com>,"'Michael Kay'" <mike@s...>
• Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:57:26 -0800

Thanks all for bringing my attention to IRIS.
I think the idea of database starts with data model.  
Then there needs to be a query language for that data model and that the
query language is closed with respect to the data model.
The idea of "functional database" can mean a number of things.
1. that functions are first class parts of the data model.
2. That the query language is functional.

Perhaps another way to look at "functional database" would be to declare
that side effects are not possible.  Read Repeatability certainly has that
and snapshot semantics address that as well.

Jim

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Sokolov [mailto:sokolov@ifactory.com]
> Sent: February-15-12 4:09 PM
> To: Michael Kay
> Cc: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
> Subject: Re:  functional databases noodling ...
> 
> On 2/15/2012 3:23 PM, Michael Kay wrote:
> > One of the reasons O2 was a great project was that it took input from
> > the functional database research rather than (as with other object
> > databases) merely trying to be a persistent object-oriented
> > programming language.
> >
> > Michael Kay
> > Saxonica
> I worked on one of those (ONTOS) for a few years - it was my first real
job,
> and it always seemed that we were struggling to find viable applications
for
> it (and customers!)  Looking back now, I think the big missing link was a
> query language: something really data-oriented seemed to be called for.
> Instead ONTOS provided persistent C++ collection data structures and
> assumed that would be sufficient, but it wasn't, and it was just too hard
to
> optimize every conceivable kind of C++ access to remote storage.  Our most
> successful competitor, Object Design, had developed a memory-mapped
> storage that seemed to be the best thing going in that arena, but even
still I
> don't think it really handled joins and indexing as well as RDBs had been
> doing for years.
> 
> -Mike
> 
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• Follow-Ups:
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    • From: James Fuller <james.fuller.2007@gmail.com>

• References:
  • functional databases noodling ...
    • From: James Fuller <james.fuller.2007@gmail.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: daniela florescu <dflorescu@mac.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: Frank Manola <fmanola@acm.org>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: daniela florescu <dflorescu@mac.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>
  • Re: functional databases noodling ...
    • From: Michael Sokolov <sokolov@ifactory.com>