Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!bionet!agate!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!trout.nosc.mil!broman From: broman@schroeder.nosc.mil (Vincent Broman) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: MDBS Inc.'s MDBS III post-*relational* ?????? Message-ID: Date: 5 Oct 88 00:00:37 GMT Sender: nobody@nosc.NOSC.MIL Reply-To: broman@nosc.mil Organization: none Lines: 25 What reading? All I know about this is in: Bonczek, Holsapple, and Whinston, Micro Database Management: practical techniques for application development, Academic Press (HBJ), 1984. I only had time to skim some highlights, much of which went right over my head. :-) The authors use the term "postrelational" to describe the "extended-network" approach, which they contrast with the older hierarchical, shallow network, CODASYL network, and relational approaches. They use MDBS III prominently in the book and in an associated course, sounding almost commercial in their promotion thereof. There is an appendix devoted to debunking current "myths" about relational technology and its being the summit of DBMS evolution, pointing out how other approaches have its same advantages of clear theory, nonprocedural access, etc. Unfortunately, the juicy details about how extended networks beautifully support representation of many-to-many relations I didn't get to. Any one else study this? Vincent Broman, code 632, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA 92152, USA Phone: +1 619 553 1641 Internet: broman@nosc.mil Uucp: sdcsvax!nosc!broman