Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by noobiemcfoob on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:13PM
(#21484303)
I've built IoT platforms where data from any device must be accepted. This is largely where my preference for NoSQL comes from. A device created tomorrow will not have a schema I can predict or control. NoSQL allows the easy integration of that device while a traditional database will at worst require a migration for each new device you want to support.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by asdfman123 on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:17PM
(#21484349)
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds like a very narrow use case, and also something that could be solved by simply stuffing JSON into a RDBMS.
However, perhaps there are tools that NoSQL provides that are handy.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by noobiemcfoob on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:22PM
(#21484416)
What's wrong is that you asked for any usecase and then critique one because it's not broad enough for you.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by asdfman123 on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:25PM
(#21484449)
Sorry, I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just argue in order to understand better.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by noobiemcfoob on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:31PM
(#21484532)
Then argue honestly and work to steelman other's arguments. To address your point, I'd hardly consider IoT platforms to be a "narrow" usecase. Smaller than the whole of computing, surely, but it's a growing field. The reality is that more and more devices will become available that generate all sorts of hard to predict data. Being able to handle those easily will be a large strength for platforms going forward. Dropping this hard to predict data as JSON into a RDMS will certainly come back to haunt you in 5 years.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by asdfman123 on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:58PM
(#21484886)
How will it come back to haunt? Again, just curious.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by noobiemcfoob on Friday November 08, 2019 @01:27PM
(#21485175)
You'll have dumped it into a strict database, giving yourself a false sense of order and organization. But later when you need to query that amorphous data, you might be able to use OPENJSON or something else, but a NoSQL solution will have been built to handle this type of query specifically with utilities like key exists and better handling for keys missing or only sometimes being present.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by Scarbutt on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:17PM
(#21484344)
You can't really design your tables well enough without knowing your UI, its a back and forth, forth and back process.
Re:Modern Data Practice and the SQL Tradition
by asdfman123 on Friday November 08, 2019 @12:18PM
(#21484358)
And it's something you can do entirely on paper, too, before you go to code.
However I've never greenfielded an actually large application.
When I'm designing an app from scratch I often think about the SQL tables first and how I'm going to build them, and it really sharpens my idea of what my program will be.
I don't see how skipping that process would make things easier.