Comments on: The One Where I Rant About Data http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556 simplify Wed, 31 Oct 2018 04:08:37 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: matt http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556&cpage=1#comment-382 matt Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:57:50 +0000 http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556#comment-382 @Alex, I'm not sure I'm proposing anything in particular. This is a rant, remember. I'm tired of repackaging my data all the time. I want storage consistency between files, databases, and the network. We're moving toward a time of RAM-as-datastore. Secondary storage is fading. The file metaphor is dated and weird. We're just used to it. Why do we keep it? Imagine a filesystem that was a true graph. Where data didn't have to be flattened in order to be stored, or unflattened to be read. And more importantly, wouldn't lose connection to other data. That would be sweet! @Alex, I’m not sure I’m proposing anything in particular. This is a rant, remember.

I’m tired of repackaging my data all the time. I want storage consistency between files, databases, and the network.

We’re moving toward a time of RAM-as-datastore. Secondary storage is fading. The file metaphor is dated and weird. We’re just used to it. Why do we keep it?

Imagine a filesystem that was a true graph. Where data didn’t have to be flattened in order to be stored, or unflattened to be read. And more importantly, wouldn’t lose connection to other data. That would be sweet!

]]> By: Alex Dodge http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556&cpage=1#comment-380 Alex Dodge Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:31:25 +0000 http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556#comment-380 I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at here. It sounds like you don't like serializing data structures. But, that's pretty much required by current computer technology: regardless of the filesystem or file formats, hard drives store a single string of bits. There's no way I can see to get around that, and I'm still not convinced it's such a bad thing. The alternative would be to move the structure of the data into physical space, but it seems like we'd be losing a lot of flexibility with that. What are you proposing? Alex Dodge I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at here. It sounds like you don’t like serializing data structures. But, that’s pretty much required by current computer technology: regardless of the filesystem or file formats, hard drives store a single string of bits. There’s no way I can see to get around that, and I’m still not convinced it’s such a bad thing. The alternative would be to move the structure of the data into physical space, but it seems like we’d be losing a lot of flexibility with that.

What are you proposing?

Alex Dodge

]]> By: Data http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556&cpage=1#comment-360 Data Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:33:28 +0000 http://www.youell.com/matt/writing/?p=556#comment-360 Yeah man, the file metaphor in computer architecture sucks. The only thing worse is, well, the metaphor in use before the file metaphor. Yeah man, the file metaphor in computer architecture sucks. The only thing worse is, well, the metaphor in use before the file metaphor.

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