To: Rob <isanamespace@yahoo.com>
Cc: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Storing HTML in table
References: <hq2dnTZ-cos83R_enZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d@speakeasy.net>
In-Reply-To: <hq2dnTZ-cos83R_enZ2dnUVZ_tednZ2d@speakeasy.net>
From: Greg Stark <gsstark@mit.edu>
Organization: The Emacs Conspiracy; member since 1992
Date: 27 Nov 2005 15:33:22 -0500
Message-ID: <87zmnpj0fh.fsf@stark.xeocode.com>
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Rob <isanamespace@yahoo.com> writes:

> I would like complete control over this information -- so if sometime in the
> future it's decided to totally redesign the layout. Also, at some point a
> tool will be created so novice computer users can enter nicely formatted
> markup -- meaning you won't have to know HTML to use this tool.

You should go look at some of the XML database books out there and maybe
you'll find a tool to do what you want. But beware, there's a lot of snake-oil
in this field. Anyone who promises a one-size-fits-all solution to every
problem is probably deluded.

The problem is hard. There's an inherent tension between being able to easily
manipulate parts of the data and flexibility in the type of data you can
represent. One one side is the traditional relational database model where
every record must contain precisely the same fixed list of predetermined
columns. One the other side is the decidely non-relational model where you
just store a large hunk of xml text. 

What you're looking for is one of the many systems that attempt to bridge
these two extremes and provide the best of both worlds. 

-- 
greg