Hello, On Jan 6, 2014, at 6:51 AM, James K. Lowden <jklow...@schemamania.org> wrote:
> You're welcome to your opinion, of course. But you're really not answering > my point, and I object to your assertion that I'm clinging to 1986. Apologies about that. The 1986 reference was more pointed to SQLite itself, not you personally :) > Evolution for its own sake is not improvement, right? Agree. > I simply said that new syntax absent new functionality doesn't add anything, > which you haven't denied. Yes, agree, it’s a bit of a lateral move at first sight. > Can we not agree that just toying with the syntax is a waste of time and > makes things worse, not better? No. This is where we part ways. In this very specific case, introducing named subqueries is a great improvement in syntax and flexibility of expression. And yes, syntax matters :) Think about it more as a compound effect: the ‘with’ clause by itself is not much to talk about, but combined with windowing functions (which tend to required quite a bit of subqueries) and the ability to decompose logic bottom-up (as oppose to inside-out with traditional subqueries) does create a much more expressive, comprehensible, and comprehensive language altogether. Or at least such is my experience as a practitioner of the dark art of writing SQL :D > Like you, I'd prefer to see SQLite create new functionality, > not simply offer new keywords to accomplish what it already does. > There's a case for MERGE and windowing functions, I agree. Also better > constraint violation error messages, and bona fide atomic commits. Sure thing. More generally, in my opinion, SQLite, the implementation, hasn’t keep up with SQL, the ‘standard’. > We could have a long, long talk if you wanted to (which I doubt, so I > won't start) about how well and poorly SQL fits into the modern > environment, what assumptions it carries forward from the days of COBOL > and APL and PROLOG. I know a bit about it. I would love to have that talk, but perhaps not over email, which tend to be tedious. Perhaps over a drink one day :) > I'm working on making it obsolete lest my grandchildren have to learn it. Like many of its forebears, SQL will outlive us all, with warts, blemishes, and all. Best to use it than to fight it in my opinion. And, on that note, I wish you a Happy New Year. Cheers, PA. _______________________________________________ sqlite-users mailing list sqlite-users@sqlite.org http://sqlite.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sqlite-users
