Database metatheory
Christos H. Papadimitriou · ACM SIGACT News · 1995
Is "database theory" an oxymoron?Or is it a platitude?What is the fitness measure that decides the survival of ideas (and areas) in mathematics, in applied science, and in computer science?Which ideas f r o m database theory during the past twenty-five years have influenced research in other fields of computer science?How m a n y were encapsulated in actual products?Was the relational model the only true paradigm shift in computer science?Is applicability the only and ultimate justification of theoretical research in an applied science?Are applicability pressures really exogenous and unwelcome?Are negative results appropriate goals of theoretical research in an applied science --o r are they the only possible such research goals?I f scientific theories must be refutable, what are the Chard facts" that provide the possibility of refutation in the case of computer science? I n t r o d u c t i o nT h e phrase theoretical computer science often elicits a puzzled smile from a welli n t e n d e d l a y m a n .I suspect t h a t database theory has t h e same effect.If it is t h e field to which you have dedicated your life's work, this makes you stop and t h i n k .This p a p e r is m y one-time a t t e m p t to organize and register these thoughts.