back to article Microsoft slaps the Edge name on SQL, unveils the HoloLens 2 Development Edition

Microsoft has unveiled a slew of technologies aimed getting its wares on the Edge, with a titchy SQL database and the developer edition of its Mixed Reality headset, HoloLens 2. HoloLens 2 for Development Tacitly acknowledging that, yes, it lost the war on the mobile front, Microsoft is keen that users move "beyond the 2D …

  1. I.Geller Bronze badge

    SQL technology is obsolete

    SQL technology is the exact opposite of AI technology.

    In SQL, all patterns are pre-sorted (into tables), by their explicit (contextual) and implicit (subtextual) meanings. Sorted by hand! by people who know these meanings, and not saved.

    In AI technology patterns are not sorted, there are no tables, everything is done automatically. Patterns are found on a case-by-case basis, as their explicit contexts and implicit subtexts are preserved as sets of explanatory patterns.

    For example, a commanding pattern for a Tesla car can (hypothetically) be annotated with 1,000 sets of explanatory patterns, which are structured dictionary definitions (for this pattern's words), plus explanations in what situations and how this pattern commands with Tesla mechanisms. Thus the commanding pattern can be instantly found based on the response from Tesla sensors.

    There is no analog to AI annotations in SQL database, in SQL they are meant and not coded. Therefore SQL technology is obsolete.

    1. Steve Knox
      Happy

      Re: SQL technology is obsolete

      I'm old enough to remember when it was NoSQL which was to destroy SQL and make it obsolete.

      Now it's "AI".

      I wonder what will be next to make SQL "obsolete."

      1. I.Geller Bronze badge

        Re: SQL technology is obsolete

        For the first time AI-parsing is proposed to replace the old n-gram parsing, which has been used for the past 75 years. A small thing, but essential. Without it is impossible to annotate data, make its patterns unique and full of meaning (create long tuples, where in mathematics a tuple is a finite ordered list of elements). For example, for the first time in history IBM won Jeopardy! and introduced its Debater.

        So that's it, SQL is an ideological bankrupt and will die soon. (It could be gone few years ago but, unfortunately, I couldn't rise capital.)

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          "SQL is an ideological bankrupt and will die soon"

          There's a lot of opinion to support this. People have been saying it for years and years. Surely it must happen soon.

          1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

            Re: SQL technology is obsolete

            Yeah, it's old, so it's obsolete.

            Just like the wheel. We've been using that for thousands of years now. It's obviously obsolete.

            By the way, out of curiosity, what do you have to replace it with ?

            Because, if you don't have anything, then maybe you should check the dictionary for the definition of obsolete. I don't think you have the right one.

            1. I.Geller Bronze badge

              Differential Linguistics - AI parsing

              By AI parsing. There is a sentence

              - Alice walks, dances and laughs.

              There are three phrases (patterns) here, each has 0.(3) weight:

              -- Alice walks 0.(3)

              -- Alice dances 0.(3)

              -- Alice laughs 0.(3)

              As you know n-gram parsing can produce only one and continuous pattern

              -- Alice walks dances laughs

              and no weights.

              This is my Differential Linguistics: there are two sentences:

              - Alice.

              - Alice walks, dances and laughs.

              In the first the pattern "Alice" has its weight = 1. So, the second is a differential function with its limit in the first, into its singular word. The integral for the function is a paragraph, which has the second sentence, and a set of dictionary definitions(as its constant). Therefore parsing/ searching for information you must deal with paragraphs, not clauses, phrases and sentences.

              This is used by IBM, Google (Waymo) and I have no idea how many other companies.

              If you want I can continue.

              1. Richard 12 Silver badge

                Re: Differential Linguistics - AI parsing

                Well that's nice.

                Another person who doesn't understand what SQL databases are actually used for.

                Hint: It's not textual analysis.

                1. I.Geller Bronze badge

                  Re: Differential Linguistics - AI parsing

                  It is! All textual descriptions are meant implicitly, tables are created with this knowledge.

                  I call this implicit knowledge 'subtext' - you search, add and delete knowing the records' subtexts.

            2. Aitor 1

              Re: SQL technology is obsolete

              Ppl have tried to "improve" the air filled tyre. Many times and always failed to improve it..

              As for SQL databases being obsolete.. yes and no.

              They are obsolete for many uses, but not for the important data, for that use, they still are the best option, for that little thing called ACID, etc.

              1. I.Geller Bronze badge

                Re: SQL technology is obsolete

                This date ALWAYS has its implicit descriptions, annotations, labels = subtexts. The super idea of NIST TEC QA is to make the implicit explicit and use it when searching for information. AI is created as a solution to this problem.

        2. bombastic bob Silver badge
          Meh

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          "For the first time AI-parsing is proposed to replace the old n-gram parsing"

          I recommend that you take a look at Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority" before further comment. You're welcome.

        3. Emperor Small Pants
          Devil

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          SQL Server is not obsolete, it is like The Borg, AI will be assimilated, resistance is futile.

          https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/mt784663.aspx

      2. Nolveys

        Re: SQL technology is obsolete

        NoSQL was never going to fly because it doesn't integrate with AI block chain holographic storage.

        1. I.Geller Bronze badge

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          That's it! It does not analyze according to grammar rules and calculates weights, it does not use paragraphs as the base units.

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Pirate

        Re: SQL technology is obsolete

        I'm old enough to remember someone mentioning "sequel server" and I couldn't find any information on it anywhere because it was spelled "SQL" and some _IDIOT_ at IBM (probably a marketeer) decided to pronounce it 'sequel' which caused nothing BUT confusion...

        Then of course there's the "Es Queue El" language, which is pronounced the way I stated it.

        But when people pronounce 'MySQL' or "PostgreSQL" with 'sequel' in them, or the language name as 'sequel', I cringe like a cat getting its hair stroked backwards. And of course I'm obligated to CORRECT them and waste 5 minutes of otherwise-work-time doing so.

        Also wondering, why anyone would bother with SQL Server (which I do _NOT_ pronounce with 'sequel' in it, since it's not a sequel to anything, and it uses 'Es Queue El' and I rebel against "the other pronunciation") when you have PostgreSQL which is totally free and extremely reliable??

        So what would be next to make SQL "obsolete" ? Probably nothing. because it won't be. Just like a screwdriver isn't obsolete, nor is a hammer. Or a knife. Or a window [in a BOFH kinda way].

    2. a_yank_lurker

      Re: SQL technology is obsolete

      Relational DBMS are not obsolete as they have certain characteristics that make them ideal certain applications that require absolute transactional integrity like banking. SQL is a language that used by RDBMS systems and in theory a variant could be used for other DBMS types.

      1. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: SQL technology is obsolete

        good point about banking. this is what computers started their main business uses in (and where a room full of people adding up numbers all day justified spending zillions on an IBM mainframe to do it better).

        To properly analyze the evolution of the tech, you also have to look at the way data was traditionally stored back in the beginning, on tape and cards and things of that nature. So you had sorting machines for cards, and tapes ran sequentially. You can actually do a merge sort by writing things out sequentially, and use sorts to combine data. SQL is a YUGE improvement on the "sort and combine" technique that allows you to arbitrarily define relationships between things, plus the transaction stuff.

        So SQL is NOT going away any time soon. It's just way too useful.

        A while back there was this attempt at an 'object oriented database' called 'PoET'. Working with it was too difficult. That project (that used PoET) was abandoned, but taken back up later using regular SQL, which worked great and didn't require extra hoops to jump through. Sometimes that "new, shiny" is just a distraction away from getting things done.

        1. I.Geller Bronze badge

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          You will never know that AI database exists and that you are using it. You will just talk to computer as you talk to a person, explain what you want, demanding to change something.

          Look at the IBM Debater project? This is the future, this is how you will use AI database.

          1. vtcodger Silver badge

            Re: SQL technology is obsolete

            "You will never know that AI database exists and that you are using it. You will just talk to computer as you talk to a person, explain what you want, demanding to change something."

            I suspect you have never tried to manage people. Persuading people to do simple tasks can be spectacularly time consuming and difficult. The possibility of dealing with machines that behave like humans should strike fear into all but the bravest and/or most foolhardy.

        2. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: SQL technology is obsolete

          good point about banking. this is what computers started their main business uses in (and where a room full of people adding up numbers all day justified spending zillions on an IBM mainframe to do it better).

          I always thought it was Leo in the tea shops.

      2. I.Geller Bronze badge

        Relational DBMS are obsolete and will soon be replaced

        AI is a relational database that uses timestamps!

        All references are intertwined, every number-sign-word and all phrases are connected with absolutely all other records. Plus the timestamps establish a causal relationship that dictates how and what exactly is found.

        I cannot demonstrate AI database, have no money to finish it... But its prototype you can see as the manually structured the US Patent Database. Browse on Internet, on Ilya Geller? You may find somewhere my business plan, how this database can be converted into AI database, quite fast - in 5-7 months.

        1. genghis_uk
          Pint

          Re: Relational DBMS are obsolete and will soon be replaced

          I am sure you have a lot of uses for a database that uses natural language parsing to get you results but most of the world just want to get guaranteed repeatable results from what is essentially a bloody big spreadsheet. Why would you want the NLP overhead?

          You may think NLP is the way forward and it may well be so for a limited set of applications but killing SQL? Probably not.

          Good luck with the development though - it's Friday, have one of these --->

          1. I.Geller Bronze badge

            Re: Relational DBMS are obsolete and will soon be replaced

            There are many smart people who need money, they will find how to apply AI technology to spreadsheets.

    3. deadlockvictim

      Yay, Ilya is back!

      And he has not disappointed either: SQL is ideologically bankrupt.

      I'd never have thought of putting Capitalism, Communism, Fascism and SQL in the same sentence, but there you are, this is the genius of Ilya Geller.

      I can't tell if he is a prophet or a madman.

      1. I.Geller Bronze badge

        Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

        It's a fact! SQL as Communism and Fascism came out of the same vial, they are all heirs of ancient Greek polytheism. Indeed, by entering data into (under SQL control) database, you know what you enter, you know both explicit and implicit information about your data. You create tables based on this your knowledge.

        Communism and fascism are also based on knowledge: there are people who know, the so-called leaders. For example, Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler knew. And they ended up bad, like SQL soon.

        AI is based on Differential Analysis, where knowledge is understood as a result of becoming, as a functions' limit. That is, AI ideologically opposes SQL, it does not use tables and comes from Biblical monotheism.

        1. deadlockvictim

          Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

          Ilya Geller: AI ideologically opposes SQL, it does not use tables and comes from Biblical monotheism.

          SQL comes from mathematics, fundamentally set theory but also multi-set theory. There are some vendor extensions that break from set-theory.

          Please do explain how AI comes from Biblical monotheism. I am interested to learn.

          1. I.Geller Bronze badge

            Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

            Yeah, that's my speculation.

            1. Edgar Frank "Ted" Codd studied mathematics and chemistry at Exeter College, Oxford. So he studied Philosophy there, too? It was a curriculum, wasn't it? The leading Philosophical school of that time was (and still is) the theory of External Relations of Analytical Philosophy, developed by Moore, Russell and Wittgenstein.

            It's based on atheism! and we are talking about polytheism. For example, Bertrand Russell published "Why I'm not a Christian", have you read it? The basic concept of atheism is that there are people who know and Pythagorean theorem is a proof.

            AI came from my theory of Internal Relations, which insists that there is no knowledge, and that Pythagorean theorem is wrong (there are no straight lines and right angles, they are abstractions - show me one please?)

            In other words, the theorem presents a limit to which something real strives to become (we have no straight lines and right angles there), and the theorem has a completely different nature from what really exists.

            2. Show me how SQL uses sets? Set Theory and Topology? It doesn't, it works with singular words mostly, as the rule (numbers and signs are them), uses arithmetic only. It even doesn't know weights of records, unless they are manually assigned.

            Meanwhile AI works with clusters (sets) of weighted synonymous predicative phrases/ patterns. Thus, AI is a domain of Set Theory and Topology.

            1. deadlockvictim

              Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

              Ilya Geller: AI came from my theory of Internal Relations, which insists that there is no knowledge, and that Pythagorean theorem is wrong (there are no straight lines and right angles, they are abstractions - show me one please?)

              Do you, then, reject the Pythagorean Theorem and all of its works?

              What is this please ___________________________________ ?(it can't be a straight line, so what is it?)

              1. I.Geller Bronze badge

                Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

                No Euclidean Geometry for differential analysis! It's the basic Math, read any book on the analyses? Instead (my speculation) Lobachevsky's Geometry, which is based on striving to its limit (becoming in Hegelian sense).

                In AI, knowledge is the limit, distilled (as sets of weighted synonymous clusters) opinions strive to it.

              2. I.Geller Bronze badge

                Re: Yay, Ilya is back!

                There are no straight lines and right angles, these are abstractions. Therefore, Pythagorean theorem is an abstraction that does not exist, and is erroneous in our world as nothing which cannot be experienced.

                According to my understanding of Bible, Maimonides and Hegel all really existing lines and angles tend to "become" (Hegel's term) something they are not. That is, they strive toward their limit, to the transition to the new quality, abstraction.

                It's an idea I put into artificial intelligence: paragraphs strive toward their limit in a single word, plurality becomes singularity. For example, this sentence and paragraph

                - Alice.

                - Alice laughs and sings. She's fun. Alice is happy.

                In the paragraph patterns have weights less than 1, in the sentence - 1. So AI works with clusters (sets) of weighted synonymous patterns.

          2. I.Geller Bronze badge

            Maimonides

            3. To understand why I think that the Bible is a Differential theory I recommend reading of Maimonides, and his explanation of why God is not in our world and what angels are.

            This, of course, my conjectures! But it seemed to me that Maimonides formulated thus the foundations of Differential Analysis 700 years before Newton and Leibniz came. So I read the Bible through the prism of my understanding of Maimonides and the Analysis. How I understand it! Right?

            AI conceived as a differential system, where Machine Learning gives the increment of AI function, and textual paragraphs are understood as integrals. In this case sets of dictionary definitions are understood as constants in the integration.

            This is how I use Biblical monotheism, doing AI.

  2. Brett Weaver

    Unfortunately

    I acknowledge that SQL may not be intuitively associated with AI. I do need my data stored, accessible and secure. I need this in an environment of multiple technologies, business drivers and performance requirements. What are you recommending we use to store data which will be further processed?

    1. I.Geller Bronze badge

      Re: Unfortunately

      IBM Watson? Or there is my design, see the US PTO? If you have resources you can build AI database yourself.

      1. upsidedowncreature

        Re: Unfortunately

        "Or there is my design, see the US PTO?"

        Link please.

        1. I.Geller Bronze badge

          Re: Unfortunately

          Ilya Geller:

          http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=ilya&FIELD1=&co1=AND&TERM2=geller&FIELD2=&d=PTXT

      2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        IBM Watson ?

        Oh, you mean that thing that is failing to bring the expected benefits ?

        Brilliant example.

        1. I.Geller Bronze badge

          Re: IBM Watson ?

          It's IBM, not me. I don't have the means to add the US Patent Database to my AI database and demonstrate how it works.

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Unfortunately

      "What are you recommending we use to store data which will be further processed?"

      What further processing do you envisage? The requirement determines the solution. If you're not sure how about a collection of Post-It notes.

  3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    "There seems to be some sort edict carved into the stone at the base of Redmond Towers stating that all tech must involve Artificial Intelligence these days."

    Just Redmond Towers? The fly-posters have been out all over the IT industry.

    1. I.Geller Bronze badge

      What is the purpose of programming? Find the answer, in accordance with which produced some action. For this purpose specially trained people structure texts (called specifications), translating them into patterns (that is, programming language commands).

      AI does the same but without intermediaries, programmers: it structures texts (you can continue to call them specifications) in sets of patterns, in accordance with which some action is performed.

      For example Google (Waymo) and Tesla do that.

      So "Yes!", there is the "edict carving into the stone at the base of Redmond Towers standing that all tech must involve Artificial Intelligence these days". All programming languages are obsolete, as well as all programmers.

      1. Richard 12 Silver badge
        Facepalm

        For an example of what AI is capable of, see posts by I Geller.

        For examples of useful AI capabilities... erm... well, you can extract a lot of money from fools by adding the right set of buzzwords.

        1. I.Geller Bronze badge

          Tesla

          Read FT on Tesla? "Why Tesla is taking a different approach to self-driving cars"

  4. jabuzz

    Linux only for now

    I guess the bit that gets me the most is this "SQL Database Edge supports ARM64 and x64 devices running on Linux. Windows support is coming soon. If you’d like to use it on another platform or OS, send us your suggestions." The concept of Windows support being secondary to Linux from Microsoft just blows the mind.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Linux only for now

      I think that what bothers me the most is that Microsoft has clearly transitioned from a Windows-is-the-only-true-path culture to an anything-that-will-bring-in-the-money culture.

      Of course, that fact that Microsoft has had to use Linux for its Azure platform, instead of an army of Windows servers, was certainly a painful cluebat to the face. Apparently there was some brain damage after all.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Linux only for now

        From that article you linked to - "Microsoft has admitted to something that used to be unthinkable: using Linux to run SOME of its own operations" (my emphasis)

        There are still an army of Windows servers running Azure, and also some Linux ones.

  5. a_yank_lurker

    AI = Artificial Incompetence

    Possibly the major problem with any AI system is the surprising poor quality of the data sets. For example, in the scientific literature only papers with a "positive" outcome are regularly printed. But papers with 'negative" outcomes are almost never printed. Thus the data set is skewed in a false way towards the 'positive' results. This is particularly troubling in areas where statistical methods are critical Any good statistician will tell you the 'positive' outcome could occur randomly so you need the negative outcomes to see if the outcome is a statistical fluke. So you train you artificial incompetence system on poor quality data that looks good and you will get poor quality output. GIGO, garbage in = garbage out.

    1. I.Geller Bronze badge

      Re: AI = Artificial Incompetence

      Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

      AI understands any data! Don't train AI on data, train it on dictionary!

      Don't train on terabytes!!! Don't!!!

      Train on bytes!!!

      Train on dictionary definitions!

      Don't train whole patterns but train their words instead!

    2. I.Geller Bronze badge

      Re: AI = Artificial Incompetence

      If you train by dictionary definitions - doesn't matter what data you use. AI will annotate and understand it anyway!

  6. Nolveys
    Headmaster

    Stop naming things after things that aren't those things!

    "Hey, are you on Lync?"

    "No, I'm on Skype."

    "You mean Skype?"

    "No, Skype."

    "How do I get Skype?"

    "Load up Edge and download it."

    "How do I download through Edge?"

    "Not Edge, Edge."

    "Oh, Edge, I thought you meant Edge. So I should use Edge, but not Edge to download Skype, but not Skype."

    "Exactly."

    "Hey, have you seen Halloween?"

    1. caffeine addict

      Re: Stop naming things after things that aren't those things!

      Remember when Surface wasn't a tiny tablet but a rich media coffee table thing?

      https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/30/surface_computing/

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Stop naming things after things that aren't those things!

      This reminds me of a scene from Chobits... the one where Chii called everything "Hideki"

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stop naming things after things that aren't those things!

      I assume the core of your joke is that Lync was renamed Skype for Business which was a different product than Skype?

      Skype for Business has already migrated over into Microsoft Teams.

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