An Ode to Databases
July 4, 2012
The Damien Katz blog recently published a piece on the importance of databases, not unlike a love letter, called “Why Database Technology Matters.”
After rambling on for several paragraphs about how he finds databases so fascinating, Katz starts to narrow into his thesis which is that databases are one of the most significant advancements of humanity. They are as important as telecommunications and the Internet, as well as libraries (the first non-digital database).
After stating this point, Katz then goes on to discuss the databases created by IBM, Google, and Oracle. Katz writes:
“When IBM was at the absolute height of its power, they were the richest, most powerful company on the planet. They primarily sold mainframes for a lot of money, and at the core of those mainframes were big database engines, providing a big competitive advantage their customers gladly paid for.
Google has created a database indexing of the internet. They are force because they found ways to find meaning in the massive amounts of information already available. They are a very visible example of changing the way humanity thinks.”
This piece makes some interesting points regarding the impact that databases have had on our society. I admire Katz’s passion for the subject.
Jasmine Ashton, July 4, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
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