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The Platypus Database 2

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lespaul

lespaul

Programmer
Feb 4, 2002
7,083
US
Some of you may have seen my threads mentioning the database I use. It's an AS400, that , as I told my husband, was not designed and developed; it was evolved and it's the platypus of databases. Our court has been using the AS400 for about 20 years. There are hundreds of RPG programs and everytime someone had to develop a new application, if there wasn't a table that had the information a new one would be created that had all the needed information. It didn't matter that there were already tables that had 3/4 of the information. So now we have this platypus database that is unnormalized and no plans in the future to do anything about it.

This really bugs me. I was taught the relational database model and always found the logic of normalization came very easily. Of course, the plus side (can always find one!) is that my SQL skills have increased greatly in order to extract the proper information from my platypus.

Is this situation rare or do any of you have to deal with a platypus?

Leslie
 
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Ok, this thread started out by complaining about (the newly coined) chimeric database and now we want to create them? Have we all gone MAD, MAD, MAD?????
 
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We British would have to refuse to use the ANSI standard for Chimera and instead spend a great deal of time and money developing our own. Having almost succeeded we would then have to completely re-write it to accommodate the EU Chimera standards.

Having caused at least one high profile government minister to resign over the issue, we would then abandon it completely and quietly adopt the ANSI Chimera standard.

If that’s ok with you guys?



Must think of a witty signature
 
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I think gone mad is a conservative estimate. Many of us probably hit mad years ago.

"Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!"
- Daffy Duck
 
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And the french would Ban the term "Chimera Database" from their language.

"Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!"
- Daffy Duck
 
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I'm laughing so hard I could pee!

Of course, I now have the uber-cool job title of "Chimera Slayer". We have several of these things around my office and my job is to consolidate everything into one nice robust RDBMS -- been doing that for five years and I'll be buggered if Joe User doesn't have the ability to create three of these beasts for every one I can kill.

Job security, I guess...
 
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*lol* oh gawd.. haven't had time to read this thread until now, but I've been absolutely entranced by the title.. makes me smile every time I see it...

"The Platypus Database"

great titling - like "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Thomas Crown Affair"

evocative.. kinda rings of mystery.. intrigue.. adventure, and maybe even a dash of romance.. it just sounds like a big screen thriller for geeks.

Now you throw in 'chimeric'? I'm dyin here...


 
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theoxyde: Of course the original "Chimera Slayer" was Bellerophon, so maybe you should change your handle!! But don't set your sights too high, after slaying the chimera, he tried to ride/fly Pegasus to Olympus and Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus and Bellerphon was thrown off!

ulteriormotif: Glad to provide such entertainment!

Leslie




 
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"We have several of these things around my office and my job is to consolidate everything into one nice robust RDBMS "

Sounds like you started out with a distributed chimera data base (DCDBMS), but are now working towards a consolidated chimera data base (CCDBMS). When you are done, will you have a chimera warehouse?
 
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Yes, with many summaries made possible by "aggravate" functions and advanced BORG (Big Ol' Redundant Goof) processing.
 
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theoxyde

and I'll be buggered if Joe User doesn't have the ability to create three of these beasts for every one I can kill.

I think you posted in the wrong thread. Rather than "Chimera" database technology it sounds as if the databases you are working with are based on "Hydra Open to Practically Everybody, Limited Extensibility Short-span" database principles. Hydra databases are named after the mythical beast which grew two heads for every one that was cut-off and are known to be difficult to get rid of.

Good luck with slaying them!












Must think of a witty signature
 
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Platypus, Chimeras, and now Hydras ........
wonder what other mythical will pop up in here.....

escuse me ...

roflmolumgb (untill my guts burst...)
 
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