From: benjohn@...
Date: 2007-03-29T17:44:06+09:00
Subject: Re: Object/Relational Mapping is the Vietnam of Computer Sci

Austin:
> The basics of it aren't hard; it's set theory with relational algebra.
> I'm just not good enough at it to explain it nearly as well as some of
> the papers that are out there. If you'd really like, I'll look at
> posting some pointers to good explanations of the relational theory of
> data on my blog when I have time (I'm in the middle of a QA handoff
> right now, so I have little time for serious research). The starting
> points I mentioned earlier, though (Wikipedia and the c2 wiki) are
> really good and get you ready for understanding much of what Fabian
> Pascal and Chris Date say. One of these days I will buy the Third
> Manifesto, but right now, I have far too much to do otherwise.

I for one would very much appreciate that [1].

I had a dig in Wikipedia, and there are good articles there; they're
about at my level. There are good explainations of the underlying model,
and how you'd use that in simple ways.

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_algebra
also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_model

I couldn't find anything about databases at http://c2.com; I imagine I'm
looking in the wrong place.

I didn't find anything that made me think: "But of course! I see why
this is the correct way now! Data stored like this has features A, B and
C, and clearly, those provide essential benefits X, Y and Z"

X could be "being able to see my data in any new way that I want in a
new application" and Y might be "being able to guarantee that at a
future time I can respond to new requirements on my model and add new
kinds of information, or merge it with other models". Z might be "being
able to provide queries to others that transparently expand the view of
the world they have", etc. All of these are just example ideas I like at
the moment, but I'd embrace other benefits if I could see they were
obviously much more important.

Cheers, and good luck with the hand off,
  Benjohn

[1] I'd love it if there were knowledge consultants in the world. Just
like I can go to a shop and have someone assist me in buying clothes,
I'd like to be able to go to someone and say "I'd like to know about x",
and they would say "ah perhaps you'd like this, this and this, then",
and I'd say "yes, those sound good, but this isn't quite right", etc. x
could be music, or part of biology, or international relations. And then
I could just drink things up and appreciate everything out there that
interests me.