[tabtab]

The real world rarely sticks with nice hierarchies. Variations of set theory is more powerful, but would generally require merging RDBMS with IDE's, which does deserve more R&D. Using code to manage complex sets is limiting; query languages do it smoother because that's what they were intended for.

I've experimented myself with "table oriented programming", but don't have time to explore all the leads I uncover and rework the problem areas. Maybe when I retire?

For example, modern CRUD stacks are really just "event handling databases" done poorly. An RDBMS would be better at managing the gazillion event snippets, if it could "talk to" the compiler properly.

The "do everything in code" mantra of the web era is a mistake. Databases are better at managing complex relationships and masses of field/UI attributes, code better at non-collection-oriented algorithms. We should use the right tool for the job. "Data annotations" in Java and C# look like JCL's mutant stepdaughter. If that's the pinnacle of CRUD, then slap me silly.

[CRConrad]

> I've experimented myself with "table oriented programming"

Is that you, Bryce?