Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari!otc!metro!basser!wolfen!uowcsa!ph
From: ph@uowcsa.cs.uow.oz (Phillip Herring)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: MDBS Inc.'s MDBS III post-*relational* ??????
Summary: post-relational != network!!
Message-ID: <518@uowcsa.cs.uow.oz>
Date: 3 Oct 88 23:47:24 GMT
References: <987@mdbs.UUCP> <2452@rtech.rtech.com> <1597@mcgp1.UUCP>
Organization: Uni of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Lines: 41

In article <1597@mcgp1.UUCP>, fst@mcgp1.UUCP (Skip Tavakkolian) writes:
> In article <2452@rtech.rtech.com>, edg@squid.rtech.com (Ed Goldman) writes:
> > In article <987@mdbs.UUCP> kbc@mdbs.UUCP (Kevin Castleberry) writes:
> > >MDBS III (a post-relational high performance dbs)
>                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Sheesh, c'mon you you guys.  There's nothing relational about MDBS III
> [deleted]
> > -edg-
> 
> I have had this question for about two years know;  The first time I ever
> saw the term ``post-relational'', was in an ad for MDBS.  It said
> it was a ``post-relational, network-type database''.  Although I am not a
> newcomer to the database arena, I've never been able to get a definition
> on this.  Could some one please describe ``post-relational''?

	The above definition (post-relational, network-style) strikes me
as bizarre! The relational model replaced to network (CODASYL) model as
the industry standard many years ago - advertising a new DBMS as such strikes
me as counterproductive.

	The explanantion that springs to mind, however, is that they are
referring to a system that uses either the E-R (entity-relationship), or
semantic net model. Both have more in common with the network model than
the relational (e.g. direct m:n modelling). The E-R model in particular
is the designer's choice for conceptual modelling, and has been used in
several new DBMS's.
	
	Another possibility that springs to mind is that the DBMS uses
the object-oriented paradigm; this is where the new generation of Ingres
(Postgres) is headed. All in all, however, 'post-relational' refers to
the DBMS using some more adavanced data model; usually E-R or object-
oriented.

Phil.

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rev. Dr. Phil Herring, Dept. of Computing Science, University of Wollongong
                           ph@uowcsa.oz
I've been wrong before, I'll be wrong again - that's the only thing my
                    employer will agree with.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/