[musingsole]

This is ultimately my problem with databases. We use the term as a catchall, but every implementation is different and is unified only in that they store tables and can respond to SQL.

People treat deciding your app will have a database as a design decision when in reality it is only about 10% of a design decision.

[arrosenberg]

That's a challenge with meatspace infrastructure too. You can have a standardized design for (e.g.) an airport, but "commercial jets" actually represents a wide variety of vehicles with different needs and tolerances, so all designs have to be adapted to the specific circumstances.