Re: is GiST still alive?

Gregor,

> Well, I have. It doen't cover all parts in detail yet, because I've
> started with a simple IO layer (simple page locking, no concurrent
> transactions) and worked on the page layout and parsing algorithms from
> there on. Querying on that format will follow thereafter. And concurrency
> issuses will be dealt with even later.

Um, I/O and Page layout are not theory.   They are implementation issues.

Theory would answer things like "What are the mathematical operations I can 
use to define compliance or non-compliance with the DTD for a heirarchy and 
for data elements?"

Or, "Is an XML database multiple documents or a single large document?"

Or, "How may new items be added to a DTD for an existing database, and what 
operations must then be performed on that database to enforce compliance?"

etc.

> only an implementation is a real proof.

Implementation is proof of a theory.  But you've got to have the theory first 
or you don't know what you're proving.

Anyway, I don't think you an borrow code from any existing relational 
database,since an XML database would be radically different structurally.

-- 
Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco