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It was the IDEs and the position that if the code validated the file, who needed a data dictionary? Just had that discussion with a programmer and his manager last week. The programmer considers it just a document to show a customer. Our certification chief has other ideas. Our manager thinks it is the best way to keep lots of independent minded, IDE equipped staff in line. len From: Michael Kay [mailto:michael.h.kay@n...] > Worse, the "data dictionary" fad was heavily in force > in those days and even the vaguely meaningful "LYNR" was being > replaced by indecipherable crud like "A0942B"... I'm surprised at this perception. My recollection is that when data dictionaries were popular, everyone knew they had to call it "LAST_YEARS_NET_REVENUE" rather than every programmer making up their own cryptic abbreviation; what's more, every screen that it appeared on used the same validation rules. I've always felt that the data dictionary was one of the good ideas of the 1980s that we've lost. An XML Schema is a partial substitute, but a very poor one. Perhaps it's another European idea that never really caught on in the States. Certainly, it was the advent of the RDBMS that caused its demise. Michael Kay ----------------------------------------------------------------- The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription manager: <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/index.php>
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