View Full Version : Rethinking the relational database
rcjordan
05-23-2005, 02:41 PM
DB heresy (http://news.com.com/Rethinking+the+relational+database/2010-1015_3-5715457.html)
Now, I don't know who this Kate is, but I like the way she thinks. Go flatfiles!
Marcia
05-27-2005, 12:39 PM
Interesting. The big push on relational databases must sell a lot of copies of MS Access when a simple Excel database would do fine.
I once asked a question in a PHP forum how to use a flatfile database with PHP (when I was thinking about learning it) and in return got asked why I'd want to use flatfile instead of relational. Why is because what it's needed for is SO simple a character delimited text file would do. I never did find out.
projectphp
05-27-2005, 07:56 PM
Even better, a flat file can be read in just about anything.
I know she makes a big deal of this, but isn't the problem just the same as a webserver log file? For the most part, they are flat files, with the only difference being from those who like customisable log files for analysis.
Still, timely reminder of horses for courses!
DianeV
05-30-2005, 04:29 AM
I had the same thought years ago -- that any discussion of databases soon turned to the biggest honkin' database setup in the world.
My theory at the time was that database programmers simply like big and fast, with unparallelled capacity. Period.
Robert_Charlton
05-30-2005, 03:53 PM
My theory at the time was that database programmers simply like big and fast, with unparallelled capacity. Period.
Could it be also that there's a you-never-know principle in operation? I'm thinking about times when I've put all my data into Excel and down the road have ended up wishing I had it in a much more flexible form.
DianeV
05-30-2005, 03:55 PM
Yes, Robert, that was exactly the reason. :)
"write-once/read-maybe"
Interesting way to think about it. Kate's clearly in a different business as I think we're all planning on "read-constantly" which is perhaps even more argument for flat-file when the data is not changing very often.
Nothing like a DB meltdown when three spiders hit at once or you get slash-dotted to make you think about flat-file architecture.