> SQL is not modular, most features are highly context-dependent...
Examples?
> SQL might be OK for trivial things, as in OLTP...
What is the threshold for triviality? I've seen understandable fairly complex queries, but they're not mind-twisters by any means; if you know what you need, and understand your data, >>and are not a layperson regarding databases<< it's doable without much sweat.
> But anything even slightly more advanced is ... not nice
Again, what is the threshold, or at least what is your threshold, for triviality vs. non-trivial?
You say it's "unique in its uselessness" but "the underlying relational algebra model is brilliant", can you explain a bit further what you mean by that?
Examples?
> SQL might be OK for trivial things, as in OLTP...
What is the threshold for triviality? I've seen understandable fairly complex queries, but they're not mind-twisters by any means; if you know what you need, and understand your data, >>and are not a layperson regarding databases<< it's doable without much sweat.
> But anything even slightly more advanced is ... not nice
Again, what is the threshold, or at least what is your threshold, for triviality vs. non-trivial?
You say it's "unique in its uselessness" but "the underlying relational algebra model is brilliant", can you explain a bit further what you mean by that?