Re: abuse of inheritance?

On Thu, 11 Jul 2002, Arguile wrote:

> Curt Sampson writes:
> >
> > So I'm ok with relational theory, I think, and I know OO pretty
> > well, at least from a programmer's viewpoint.
> >
> > But I'm unsure about this table inheritance thing. What is the advantage
> > of using inheritance over having a staff table with the staff columns
> > and a FK into the contact table? What are the disadvantages? Can anyone
> > point to some literature on this?
>
> "The Third Manifesto" by CJ Date and Hugh Darwen is a great text for
> exploring Object Relational ideas.

Yes, I've got that book, as well as the _Guide to the SQL Standard_
and many of Date's other books.

However, the appendex in T3M that deals with table inheritance can be
summarized as, "It's a stupid idea which can be implemented just as well
with a view, anyway." I tend to agree with this, but I was looking for
a contrary opinion to evaluate.

cjs
--
Curt Sampson <cjs(at)cynic(dot)net> +81 90 7737 2974 http://www.netbsd.org
Don't you know, in this new Dark Age, we're all light. --XTC