Re: [xml-dev] SQL5

[Rick Marshall <rjm@zenucom.com>]

I've been a bit busy to contribute, but I think a comment derived from 
long years of experience is probably called for.

First, I have done what you  propose - designed AND implemented an 
advanced database system. It's semantic (relational plus some 
significant meta data).

I have to agree with Richard and Len on their points. In particular you 
don't know what the gotchas will be. It took me 10 years to get a a very 
good implementation and another 10 years to get a stable implementation 
- even though the syntax looks simple enough. It's the edge cases that 
get you - anyone doing this sort of thing will I'm sure concur. The next 
10 years for me have been taken up with folding new technologies such as 
browsers, javascript, etc into the product.

Don't call it SQL - it's simply not.

And finally I'm not convinced the syntax you propose actually adds 
anything. There is a one to one translation into SQL and most database 
programmers would do the translation in their head every day.

I don't want to discourage creative thinking, but you will need to tread 
a well worn road. Get a customer, build a first pass (alpha) version, 
put it into the field. If it's any good it will start to get a life of 
it's own - and you'll make a good living along the way. If it gets 
really popular it will define a new standard. Remember that like many 
other standards, SQL wasn't alone as a way to do relational database 
systems - it was just the evolutionary survivor. It's not necessarily 
the best way to do things (QUEL was arguably better), but it was the one 
that worked best for most people.

Regards
Rick

Dmitry Turin wrote:
> Richard,
>
> RS> your design might have a flaw that can only be found during implementation.
> Speculatively
>
> RS> I don't think you've actually TAKEN a single bit of the advice
> Advice is (in order of following) to not bring different syntax,
> to separate from existing databases, to fear (look first quotation).
>
> RS> Good luck with your effort to standardize your one-person, 
> RS> confusingly-named, unimplemented language
> Dictionary is long, continue.
>
>
> Dmitry Turin
> SQL5      (5.5.0)  http://sql50.euro.ru
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>
>
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