ON YET ANOTHER "REVOLUTION"

From: Norman Harebottle

Date: 23 Feb 2006

I am a software engineer who recently graduated with a Master of Software Engineering degree. In my coursework we discussed at significant length the relational model in contrast with the object-oriented database systems and methodologies being marketed currently.

I recently ran across the article LINQ - Object Query Language and it just started making my blood boil because it seems that this "revolutionary" technology is simply a re-engineering of data query engineering in an effort to work around existing holes in the implementation of the full relational theory as set forth by Codd.

As database debunkers I would be highly interested in your analysis of this technology in the light of practicality, operational performance and relational theory.

From: Fabian Pascal

Congratulations, but I don't envy anybody these days who studies, or goes out into the industry. Both are shaky propositions. If the contrasting were sound you are very lucky.

Nothing that the big corporations (and MS of all) come up with is ever revolutionary, there is too much ignorance and fast-buck orientation for them to be able to do it, and it would be against their interests anyway. The least thing corporations are is revolutionary, and their customers are massively ignorant, so there is no incentive to make serious efforts when they can sell anything just because they're big.

These things are rarely worth bothering with. Sounds like some embedded SQL. Anything on data management that refers to objects does not inspire confidence.

From: Hugh Darwen

Yes, it looks cringe-making. Sigh again.

Posted 4/14/06