Rigid schema design is a feature of the relational model + some type checking, not SQL. SQL queries can often fail with run time type errors (in all the SQL systems I've used at least), so SQL is not that rigid in its enforcement.

I'd love to be able to use Datalog with a database (perhaps with some type of dependent type system to enforce constraints at compile time, and a pony...), but there's nothing outside academia that supports it as far as I know.

The idea of RDBMSs being slow seems to stem from people confusing special purpose databases with general purpose key value stores. The former can achieve access times in the sub 10ms range, the latter are more in the 100ms lower bound that RDBMSs are. Also, stored procedures are kind to your query cache people, ad hoc queries are bad for performance.

If I'm not pedantic my databases fail to scale. The reason being that I pay attention to detail, as such your requirement that they "handle tons of data" - for example - is crap. What are the inputs? what are the outputs? What form of query? What form is the data in on insertion/output? What if I need to do more than a single big flat index into my data?

The word "scale" is my most hated, to use that word on its own without context is to make the claim that all knowledge about building large scale computer systems acquired over the last 40 years can be boiled down to a single attribute that can be simply applied, like a salve, to your software.

Simply applying BigTable to your problems will not make them go away, it will give you a different set of problems to solve. If you chose wisely it will be a simpler set of problems, but it is not "make my website faster" cream.

PostgreSQL.

NoSQL can not possibly scale, because it is not an implementation (protip: implementations scale/don't scale, concepts don't). Unless you are referring simply to the fact that it is a meme, and as such scales trivially.

BTW, when you say "scale" are you talking about data size, active data size, CPU load, memory bandwidth, latency, concurrent queries or something else?

You still fail to understand the points that:

1. SQL is a language used to query relational databases, by no means the only one, just the most widely supported.
2. Relational databases are a subset of databases.
3. Object persistence has nothing to do with databases. You might use a database to store and manage your serialized state, but the point where it becomes an object you can send messages to it stops being data.

The problem is when people don't think about the solution and apply the cargo cult mentality. Facebook uses Eeeerlaaaang therefore we should. Facebook wrote it's own database, therefore we should. People end up writing their own database engines that do exactly the same thing as modern relational engines, with all the bugs that were fixed in the relational engines 10 years ago (5 for Microsoft). Even MS SQL will split a large group by aggregate operation (which takes 3 lines to specify) across multiple CPUS by turning it into a map reduce problem, and it will do this all without you having to be aware of it. Oracle (and many others, Oracles is supposed to be the best) will maintain multiple concurrent versions of your data in order to allow multiple users to work with a snapshot that doesn't change under them while others are changing the data, and this happens transparently. You can go ahead and implement all this stuff yourself if you want, in C and sockets, call me when your done, in 10-20 years.

The real issue I have with the NoSQL people is they're a bunch of whiny babies, who haven't even taken the time to understand the problem before lashing out at the first thing they see. Just the name tells you this, they call themselves "No SQL" and then lash out at relational databases. SQL is is a terrible language, which really needs replacing, but it is only one possible language for querying relational databases. Relational databases represent several decades of research into how to query data in a fault tolerant scalable way as a standing implementation, re-implementing them is a waste of time.

Sounds like you don't understand sarcasm. I'll spell it out for you: Simply because Facebook are running 5 million processes is neither here nor there. The impressive thing is that it actually works (from what I hear it does any way. If it did it with one process or 5 million it has nothing to do with the relative weight of Erlang and Unix processes.

Next up, tying your own shoelaces...

The case is not yet completed, everyone has a right to sue for libel, it's up to the court to decide whether it's justified. The key word is justified, a statement can be true and yet still libellous, for example "Simon Singh has not beaten his wife recently." The fact that the judge has ruled that Singh must prove his statement as true to the court in order to defend himself, this should be trivial for him. He just needs to present studies showing there is no benefit, he is lucky he does not have to prove he did not unfairly damage the reputation of the plaintiff. However he is publicising the case from the standpoint of having already lost, if he takes this attitude to court he will lose and set a bad precedent.

In the old days they'd just settle it like men with a duel.

There have been a few cases recently of fashion designers suing people selling goods that were legitimate goods, but were not being sold through approved vendors. Fashion designers are the kind of people who get uptight about their stuff appearing on eBay because it damages their brand. The press releases all said counterfeit goods, but that's not my definition of counterfeit. I wonder if this case was the same.

Buying support is an interesting way of saying he stops his population starving and gives them access to healthcare. It's almost as if his support comes from him doing things the majority want him to do, instead of sloganeering.

Is that not because Brasil was the country that figured out the quick work around for fingerprint based car ignition, i.e. steal the drivers fingers when you hijack the car. I mean, if a dozen children choose to mug me by ripping off all my clothes, I'd stand fairly still for fear of losing body parts. If they have guns, I'd probably give them the body parts if they asked.

A democracy can easily be a theocracy. And there's nothing subtle about the collectivism of tax-funded social welfare. Nothing wrong with collectivism either. It's a survival trait first used by single celled organisms, to fish, to apes and finally to us. Rugged Individualism is tool to break human spirit and keep the plebs in their place.

To put the above in perspective, the above poster is clearly rich enough to a) afford a TV b) afford a connection to the internet. The coup against Chavez was organised by the rich, and defeated by the poor. The TV stations he mentions are all for the rich, so champion low taxes and screwing poor people, basically it's Fox on every channel. The one that got shut down openly advocated the coup. That's like Fox championing freepers marching to the Whitehouse with guns, the FCC would have failed to renew Fox's license if they went that far.

As for the claim of Chavez thugs shooting at peaceful protesters, there are other camera angles showing 3 guys trying to suppress fire from automatic rifles with handguns while women and children (Chavez's thugs remember) scurry for safety because the anti Chavez crowd thinks it's their right to shoot poor people.

Given Western reporting on Chavez, I'd suspect he said nothing of the sort. You know, like when he was ousted in a coup and restored to power through popular support, reports in the US and UK were that Chavez was oppressing peaceful protest.

Downloading music is neither theft nor infringement. Every time someone mentions illegal downloading a little RIAA fairy gets its wings.

Hi, this is the rest of the world. We know how scary it can be for inhabitants of such an insular country as the USA when confronted by the notion that their culture is only one among many. We support your attempts to connect with people outside your culture and we will help you in any way we can. Hopefully this will lead you to a better understanding of the world which, if it permeates your country, will stop you lashing out at cultures you don't understand.