From: TM

To: Editor

Date: 21 Jul 2004

 

I love this quote:

 

Interestingly, the inability to integrate relational and hierarchical processing is similar to the division between the theories that define the principles governing the behavior of objects in the universe. There are two incompatible theories, the theory of general relativity governing large objects and the quantum theory governing very small objects like subatomic particles. The problem is that there should only need to be one unified theory governing all objects.

--David Michael, The Marriage of XML and ANSI SQL, datawarehouse.com

 

Wow!!! Sounds like this author has been reading too much of Stephen Hawking while drinking Jack Daniels.  Once again, a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous.  What audacity!!!!  Pass this one onto Chris, just for the amusement.  Ted Codd would have loved it too I'm sure.

 

Your last seminar, THE EXCHANGE TAIL AND THE MANAGEMENT DOG, was exceptionally enlightening on this topic. People like this should be sentenced to three years of IMS programming until they're sick of concerning themselves about questions like:

 

·   How many program communication blocks should I design for my program specification block?

·   Should I design a bi-directional physically paired logical set of relationships or use virtually paired unidirectional logical relationships as the most optimal choice?

·   What is my current position in the database with this PCB?

·   Should I use a Get Hold Next in Parent, Get Hold Next, or just simply a Get Next?

 

Don'tcha love it!!!

 

 

From: Fabian Pascal

To: TM

 

There was a time when I was amazed at this sort of thing. These days, this is rather routine. See the editorial Lenin, Trotsky, and the Freedom from the Tyranny of Knowledge and Reason.

 

Enlightening for whom? Only for those few who went through anything resembling education, the minuscule minority of which can think, independently and critically.

 

 

Ed. Comment: According to Michael’s byline “Previously a staff scientist and the lead XML architect for NCR/Teradata and their representative to the SQLX group, he has over twenty years of experience designing commercial nonprocedural heterogeneous database access products. Based on this experience, he has authored the book, Advanced ANSI SQL Data Modeling and Structure Processing, and many papers and articles on this subject.”

 

So much for who passes for a scientist these days.

 

 

Posted 10/08/04