On 2009-04-04 18:11, owens@netptc.net wrote: [snip]
If you're just interested in how things work, a rather unique approach is that used by Terradata (now sold a couple of times),based on a Cal Tech PhD thesis by Phil Neches.
Dedicated database machines with circuits hardwired for relational operations were a valid niche back in the mid-80s thru mid-90s, but Moore's Law applied to GP CPUs and DRAM finally overcame the speed gap.
I worked on a Britton-Lee back around Desert Storm/Shield. The USNR kept all their personnel training/readiness detail in such a machine connected to a VAXcluster.
-- Scooty Puff, Sr The Doom-Bringer