Re: Join Anti-SQL SIG

Regarding this Anti-SQL SIG that someone is trying to form: 1. Many of the questions on the questionaire seemed to be of the form, "Has SQL stopped beating its wife?" Agree [ ] Disagree [ ] Other [ ] At least there was an "other" category. 2. Wanting to replace a non-procedural language with a procedural, recursive language seems like a step in the wrong direction. If you want pro- cedural, write in 4GL or C or Cobol or (you get the picture). 3. Setting aside language chauvinism (i.e., should SQL be like English, as opposed to Esperanto, or some other language): It would be hard to formulate a computer language that is more English-like than: SELECT name, address, phone_number FROM phone_list WHERE zip_code IN ( 80123, 80127, 80129 ) AND city != 'Littleton' Sure, you might want to say "IS NOT EQUAL TO" in place of "!=". If you want that as an optional form, maybe I'll support that; but NOT as the only form. The "English" equivalent is much longer and not much clearer. I've seen databases in which the table and column names were indecipher- able gibberish, but that is the DBA's fault, not the fault of SQL. If you want to be able to say "telephone_list" in place of "phone_list" and not have the DB say "table not found", then: a. use synonyms (lots of 'em) for your tables, or b. use a front end tool in which you define your synonyms, etc. The statement that we need a SQL replacement language that is "more like English" makes no sense to me. So, Jon Roland, just what exactly is your complaint? You have put two or three messages into this forum complaining about SQL. Other than really vague statements like "SQL is flawed", you have not said anything. Support your position, briefly please, or clam up! Regards, ___________________________ O Alan __________________| R. Alan Popiel | H _________________________| Internet: | Martin Marietta, Tech Ops | H \\ | alan@den.mmc.com | P.O. Box 179, M/S 5422 | H \\ Std disclaimers apply.| Voice: | Denver, CO 80201-0179 USA | H ) | 303-977-9998 |___________________________| H / (But you knew that!) |_____________________) H /___________________________) H