Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!pyramid!uccba!ucqais!rpick
From: rpick@ucqais.UUCP (Roger Pick)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Database Company Contacts
Message-ID: <1346@ucqais.UUCP>
Date: 22 Feb 88 15:45:32 GMT
References: <1408@bucsb.UUCP> <30175UH2@PSUVM> <24028@cca.CCA.COM> <823@mdbs.UUCP> <33672UH2@PSUVM>
Organization: Univ of Cincinnati, College of Business Admin.
Lines: 33
Summary: definition of postrelational

In article <33672UH2@PSUVM>, UH2@PSUVM.BITNET (Lee Sailer) writes:
> In article <823@mdbs.UUCP>, kbc@mdbs.UUCP (Kevin Castleberry) says:
> >
> >MDBS III (a post-relational high performance dbs)
>              ~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~
>                    |
>           What does this mean?
>      


Like the term relational, post-relational is used by marketing types
to mean a lot of different things.  Often, it is used to refer to
some sort of semantic data model which can directly express 
relationships and constraints difficult to express using just the
constructs of the relational data model.  I would consider that
to be an appropriate use of the term.  In the case that you ask about, 
it is used to suggest they have something new.  What they actually have in
MDBS III is a useful extension of the network data model.  MDBS III
directly supports many-to-many CODASYL DBTG sets (rather than merely
one-to-many and one-to-one).   I think that the
justification given by MDBS for their terminology is that they 
support the relational model using records without sets.  With sets,
and especially with many-to-many sets, they are "post-relational."
Of course, this is silly.

In spite of the abuse of terminology, MDBS has very high quality
products for certain situations.  
They are primarily aimed at the application developer.  They decided
to provide high functionality at the expense of 'friendliness.'
-- 
Roger Alan Pick - QA & Information Systems Department, University of Cincinnati
UUCP: {decuac,psuvax1!gatech!mit-eddie,philabs!phri,pyramid}!uccba!ucqais!rpick
INTERNET:  rpick@ucqais.uc.edu   		VOICE:  (513) 475-7166
POST:    QAIS - Lindner Hall, Univ. Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0130 USA