-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 John Andersen wrote:
On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 2:40 AM, G T Smith
wrote: For instance relational database concepts have been around for some time for categorising data and while it makes sense to organise computing executable structures in trees, why are we still organising our documents in this manner?[1]
Why? Because file systems have proven themselves more reliable than database oriented approaches, and a close copy of what people do in the physical world.
We store documents (contracts, deliverables, schedules) in our files organized by projects, in folders, in drawers. Its simple, and even though finding ALL schedules is a bit of a mad-thrash, its do-able. Nothing but mindless duplication of documents allows us to look one place to find all schedules, or all deliverables across the entire engineering division.
If we could trust databases not to come totally unglued losing ALL OUR DATA we might keep out files in such a structure, and be able to find it 50 different ways without duplication.
But there is nothing in the real world that comes close to that.
Further, storage and retrieval are not desktop elements, and unless/until all users use KDE it would be inappropriate to build this functionality only into the desktop.
Eh? we should be using computer technology to enhance what we do, not merely replicate it! The issue of maintaining database integrity and database restoration is already mission critical in many places, any there are proven mechanisms to protect databases (and a file system in many ways is a primitive database). Just because we always did it that way does not mean we should always do it that way. If early humans did did find alternative ways of making fire, we would be still waiting for a passing thunderstorm to light the the fire for lunch...
The perceived need for indexing systems such as beagle must in part come from the recognition that the current way of doing things is not entirely effective as an organisational mechanism. If we change the way personal documentation is perceived as been organized this implies a change in how that documentation is accessed, i.e at the desktop. Rather than in individual applications.
The arguments you are making for building this technology into the desktop are would be more properly focused on the file system. Building such technology into the desktop is cart before the horse.
Ummm... Interestingly Will in another mail has indicated that there is something under the hood in KDE4 (Nepomuk?? but whats in a name :-) ) that may moving in this kind of direction. Will do a little googling later to find out more.... - -- ============================================================================== I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. Bjarne Stroustrup ============================================================================== -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAklA5K8ACgkQasN0sSnLmgL2IACgs+NZtjJqVBmB160S4v9GHCOk 0n0AoMed/vPXLavhxCzCJVn40vvbZFXg =VIKf -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org