Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!hc!lll-winken!lll-tis!daitc!jkrueger
From: jkrueger@daitc.daitc.mil (Jonathan Krueger)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Databases: separate-file vs. monolithic file structure
Message-ID: <177@daitc.daitc.mil>
Date: 15 Sep 88 01:54:44 GMT
References: <6299@dasys1.UUCP>
Reply-To: jkrueger@daitc.daitc.mil.UUCP (Jonathan Krueger)
Organization: Defense Applied Information Technology Center, Alexandria VA
Lines: 42

In article <6299@dasys1.UUCP> alexis@dasys1.UUCP (Alexis Rosen) writes:
>The response by Jon Krueger wasn't on-target

I don't think we're aiming for the same target.  I'm interested in
defining and solving database problems.  By trade I'm expected to
identify classes of machines capable of implementing a given solution.
Articles listing capabilities of machines of a specified size, shape,
or price tag are relevant to this newsgroup and helpful to me.
Articles that present current limitations of unspecified machines as
inherent characteristics of database management systems waste my time
and mislead the uninformed.

For instance:
	>Any monolithic structure will impose arbitrary restrictions on
	>the number of tables and columns allowed in the database.
is false and misleading.  If it were qualified, for instance:
	As of this writing, I know of no commercially available
	software running under MS-DOS that uses a monolithic
	structure that does not also impose arbitrary
	restrictions on the number of tables and columns allowed
	in the database.
it might be correct.  If it were upgraded to market research:
	Surveying current limits of some commmercially available
	database management systems, I find:
		Name	OS	Type	MaxTables	MaxCols
		Foobase	MS-DOS	M	20		50
		Barbase	MS-DOS	D	Unlimited	255
it might even be helpful.  And if you stated and analyzed the trend:
	Total costs (hardware, operating system, database) are currently:
				arbitrary restrictions	large or unlimited
		monolithic	$10,000 and up		$50,000 and up
		distributed	$2000 to $10,000	$10,000 and up
	Most of the difference in cost results from moving from
	single-user machines to shared systems.  Cost per user
	may be calculated (etc.)
your contribution to this group would be welcome and appreciated.

-- Jon

-- 
Jonathan Krueger  uunet!daitc!jkrueger  jkrueger@daitc.arpa  (703) 998-4777

Inspected by: No. 15