On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 11:51 AM, Costello, Roger L. <costello@m...> wrote:

Hi Folks,

 

Thank you very much for your excellent responses.

 

A popular database these days are the schemaless noSQL databases. My understanding of these kinds of databases is that once the data is stored into the database, the database then dynamically analyzes the stored data and does aggregation and correlation. In other words, the database dynamically generates a schema (here I use the term “schema” in a very generic sense).

 

No and this is what I tried to convey in my original (perhaps too pithy) response. Schemaless means  you can load your data into the repository without defining a schema a priori (in contrast to relational).  

That is as earth shattering and profound as being able to  put data into Excel without defining the column headings or having any at all. 

 

So if people can do productive things with schemaless databases (because a schema is dynamically generated), then people should be able to do productive things with schemaless XML (by dynamically generating a schema). Yes?

 

Schemaless really means schema deferred. It gives you the luxury of allowing schema definition to leak into your application code so when someone asks you for the business rules governing your data you give them your (these days _javascript_) code.  

That's what the NoSQL vendors are hyping. 

Cuss or comp. You decide.