"Isn't that just a join?"

[da]

At the dinner table:

d: What's on your to-do list that you're stressed about? Is there anything I can do to help?

D: [touched] Thanks for asking, but I don't think so. I've got a small pile of things to do for flgbtqc, their mailing list cleaning-up at the top of the list- it's being more complicated than I thought it would be.

d: What's that involve?

D: Mostly, removing 200 names from a list of 900, where we have a separate list of updates for the 200.

d: Isn't that just a join?

D: Well, yes, sort of. The program I wrote does compare the first and second columns in the two lists; but I'm not doing it with SQL, so-

d: [interrupts] I should point out that I've never written a line of SQL in my life. And also, that phrase, "Isn't it just a join," has turned out to be quite useful a few times when I'm talking about databases to people who do understand them.

D: ... [laughs]

d: But you have to admit, it's a useful phrase.


Why yes. Yes, it is. And now we all know your secret. *evil cackle*

Comments

[dawn-guy.livejournal.com]

So now I'm sitting here wondering whether you're doing it from the shell (call me old-fashioned if you will: sort, awk and comm are numbered among my friends) or writing it in Perl or PHP.

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I'm pretty sure you're cap-D and he's script-d. But just in case, I'll ask. And won't jump to assumptions about what that implies about you two :)

[persephoneplace.livejournal.com]

this has made me giggle - several times :)

[jeanne-d-arc.livejournal.com]

If it's any consolation, I, too have stressful to-do work for FLGBTQC. Our office's computer lab is not yet running, so I can't transfer the newsletter to CD yet.

[sulle-stelle.livejournal.com]

I knew SQL once. I took this really awesome DB class. Too bad I've forgotten all of it. It sounds pretty easy to do, though. Do you know a sql person who can look at what you're doing?

perl/sed/awk would all work, though, too. Just not as efficiently.