Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!news.albasani.net!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Lew Newsgroups: comp.lang.java.programmer Subject: Re: SQL Puzzle - too many dimensions Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 07:45:15 -0400 Organization: albasani.net Lines: 31 Message-ID: References: <3Boxp.9547$HF3.5013@newsfe03.iad> <92r02mF24dU1@mid.individual.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: news.albasani.net 5QrEPESKiL4ZabUFQqxPeq/aLnVSClAjWHqS9VWIptKxm6qrGxLEM2XKVa+RidPoo9NmEXKcTNWZYHbcUMr8qg== NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 11:45:03 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: news.albasani.net; logging-data="5C5ovTEcuEXCH6SPH6md4oLd7yWhdmlmNk92KlIMGv+qrAtAHthkzHTMDqGQfAfT758h5e/72IYWPrNB/05Z8xiRwjE23PhaRWy1gn5pIhZVuFvfIo2zG8E7UDqpmMGK"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@albasani.net" User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux x86_64; en-US; rv:1.9.2.17) Gecko/20110424 Thunderbird/3.1.10 In-Reply-To: Cancel-Lock: sha1:0lQaevbcQofeQG6XznQhJlwUdq4= Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.java.programmer:4049 Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: > Arved Sandstrom wrote: >> Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: >>> This is an example of a situation where a little bit more orthogonality >>> could have made the language much simpler. >> If you mean orthogonality as in this quote taken from Michael Scott: >> >> "Orthogonality means that features can be used in any combination, that >> the combinations all make sense, and that the meaning of a given feature >> is consistent, regardless of the other features with which it is >> combined". >> >> then practically no programming language, SQL included, is highly >> orthogonal. > I notice your weasel word “highly” there. The point is there are places > where, as I said, a little bit more orthogonality could have made the > language much simpler. Such as? I'm sure you have details in mind, but you have a habit of making sweepingly general pronouncements without sharing any details. That has the effect of making those sweeping pronouncements seem like nonsense. Put in a few facts and some reasoning to connect them to your oracular insights, hm? -- Lew Honi soit qui mal y pense. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Friz.jpg