[no subject]

["Alan Campin" <Alan.Campin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<snip>
You have a weird view of normalization.

Most of the stuff in System i databases that I've seen is in at least 
third normal form as described by Date in his landmark book on database 
methodology. The difference between third and fourth normal form is the 
elimination of multiple dependencies. I agree that there are lots of 
legacy iSeries applications with repeating information in columns of a 
table, but many of these are fading away as applications are slowly 
redesigned to take advantage of the System i DB2400 capabilities. In any

case the limitation is the knowledge and dedication of the database 
designer, not a limitation of the capabilities of the database engine.
And 
yes, even in the heyday of AS400 development in the '80s, lots of AS400 
developers knew how to normalize a database.
</snip>

Not sure what you mean by weird. 

I am just speaking from my experience over the last twenty years. I was
normalizing tables 30 years even before I got on the AS/400.

There is sure no reason that it cannot be done on the AS/400 as I have
built more than a few databases that way. The AS/400 is a superb
databases especially now. 

I just haven't seen anyone doing SQL (One exception women who worked
where I work now but she quit, I think in part because the flak she got
for using SQL) and normalizing data on the AS/400 where I have worked.
Maybe I just have lucky? Like I indicated, working on Mapics is nice
because IBM defined most of the database pretty normal. You can do
almost anything you need to do in SQL.

It is clear on this forum there are a lot of folks using SQL but how
many people are on the forum?

As far as AS/400 programmer knowing how to normalize database, again
does not jive with my experience. I am the only person I know who even
knew what the term meant in twenty years. I am speaking at where I work
and not on these forums. 

I can't tell you the number of companies I have been at where I have
been insulted, attacked and even threatened with firing for suggesting
that we normalize a table and we are not talking anything fancy. Oh,
well. Just bitching.