Years ago, we didn’t have SQL. There were people whose job was to generate software that would query large data sets. Their job title was COBOL programmer. Then SQL comes along—I’m simplifying this only a little bit—and it gives you this convenient way so people could just specify. With a very simple specification, you can generate all of that code that you had to pay the expensive COBOL programmer to do before. That didn’t mean programmers went away. It just meant the job changed a little bit ✦ AI generated
Hipp sets up the pre-SQL era: querying large data sets required custom software written by costly COBOL programmers.
D. Richard Hipp: Years ago, we didn't have SQL. There were people whose job was to generate software that would query large data sets. Their job title was COBOL programmer.
Hipp concludes that automation through SQL shifted the nature of programmers' work rather than making programmers obsolete.
D. Richard Hipp: That didn't mean programmers went away. It just meant the job changed a little bit.
explains mechanism · 1extends · 1provides context · 1
Hipp describes how SQL's convenience let anyone specify queries simply, eliminating the need for paid COBOL programmers to generate query code.
D. Richard Hipp: Then SQL comes along—I'm simplifying this only a little bit—and it gives you this convenient way so people could just specify. With a very simple specification, you can generate all of that code that you had to pay the expensive COBOL programmer to do before.
provides context · 1