Section 4 of 6
A 1970 paper decided how data would be stored
Thirteen pages published in 1970 gave data a mathematical basis. The vendors that shipped it first are the vendors still underneath, and getting out remains the hard part.
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A paper published in 1970 still decides your schema
Edgar F. Codd's relational model gave data a mathematical basis, and the systems built on it are still the default fifty years on.
Everything in Relational
3 pieces
- A paper published in 1970 still decides your schemaEdgar F. Codd's relational model gave data a mathematical basis, and the systems built on it are still the default fifty years on.
- One company built a business on being first to ship itOracle turned the relational model into a commercial database earlier than its competitors and priced accordingly.
- Getting data out is the product's real moatMigration cost, not licence cost, is what keeps a customer — which is why export is always the least-finished part of a system.