database management systems, and a ? Strong One (77)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Tue, 28 Mar 89 20:59:19 EST


Humanist Mailing List, Vol. 2, No. 776. Tuesday, 28 Mar 1989.


(1) Date: Tue, 28 Mar 89 07:47:15 BST (44 lines)
From: Sebastian Rahtz <spqr@CM.SOTON.AC.UK>
Subject: on databases and on god

(2) Date: Tue, 28 Mar 89 07:45:00 EST (12 lines)
From: N.J.Morgan@vme.glasgow.ac.uk
Subject: Re: database management systems, cont. (19)

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 89 07:47:15 BST
From: Sebastian Rahtz <spqr@CM.SOTON.AC.UK>
Subject: on databases and on god

Databases
---------

I liked Bob Sinkewicz' article on how to choose a database, but there
are bits I would take issue with. As an example, his statement that
... 'if you have more than 1000 records, an AT class machine at 10mhz
and a 28ms hard disk is practically a must'
I've been accused on here of being elitist about technology, but this
is giving in to magazine hype. I have had a database around for some
years to do with gravestones with (inter alia? are tables M or F or
N?) a table of 2500 gravestones, 4000 people and 20,000 lines of text;
it was incarnated in dBaseIII on an IBM PC XT (yes a real one) very happily and
very useably for some time, and I recently reconstructed it on my
slow-disk Zenith clone. OK, to reindex all the tables takes 40
minutes, but an interactive multi-table query is as fast as one would
want. On our Suns, it goes a lot faster, but not with much greater usefulness.

I know this sort of example-giving is sometimes counter-productives,
and I don't really mean to argue that dBase can conquer the world (god
forbid), but don't let the punter who only has his poor maligned XT
clone feel that he/she can only expect to deal with toy databases.


God
---
Since its inception, HUMANIST has consistently contemplated its navel.
Willard's recent erudite editorial prompts us to scan it again for
assorted fluff and old skin; I think he's wrong, and that the Salman
Rushdie messages should all have been published. I think HUMANIST
should return to being unmoderated. Can I consider my vote cast?
 
Sebastian Rahtz, Computer Science, Southampton
 
PS who IS this Milton person Willard goes on about so much?
 
PPS to the man whose Greek I accused of being Martian - it was a joke,
see. Curiously enough, I think you will find that the idea of
`humanism' extends beyond the bounds of literature, and Western
classical culture. I understand (well..., I did) Greek, but I don't expect
most of my acquaintance to.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:   Tue, 28 Mar 89 07:45:00 EST
From:   N.J.Morgan@vme.glasgow.ac.uk
Subject: Re: database management systems, cont. (19)
 
Isn't Lou Burnard preparing a detailed report on databases ?
 
Perhaps those with queries should hold their fire until this
arrives.
 
With apologies over possibly offensive anti-pacifist allusion,
 
Nicholas Morgan.