[mjevans]

Programming for spreadsheet like things is something a DBA does for /databases/.

No, they don't look like spreadsheets, but THAT is the industrial strength tool being used by a professional chainsaw juggler.

[repsilat]

AirTable looks kinda like a spreadsheet, and it's a MS Access clone at heart. Not terribly programmable, though it does look pretty usable.

I think "traditional" databases will fail to reach a general audience (or rather, much expand the definition of "technical audience") because SQL is not really easier than Python etc. Maybe the problem is environments and not languages, though.

Personally I think the relational model is just a little too limited. It's possible to build abstractions in SQL (views, temporary tables, `WITH` etc) but it's hard. And repetitive.

Basically I think functions and variables are great little building blocks, so I'm pushing them. And then, having not backed myself into a corner with by having chosen a limited computational model, I'll make relational stuff easy too :-).

[mbrock]

I wonder what you would get if you crossbred Postgres and Haskell, for example.

Basically adding indexed tables to the Haskell data model, maybe? Some hybrid of relational tables and algebraic data types?

Sometimes even when writing compilers I’ve had a feeling that relational queries and update would be really nice.

There seem to be four main data paradigms: (1) objects with pointers, (2) algebraic data types, (3) relational tables, and (4) Prolog-style clauses.

Some Haskell programs seem to partially reimplement 1, 3, or 4 using 2...