Kent W. Data and Reality

1stBooks, 2000. — xxiv, 248 pp. — ISBN: 1-58500-970-9 (softcover); ISBN: 1-4208-9888-4 (e-book).First published over twenty years ago, this little classic addresses timeless questions about how we as human beings perceive and process information about the world we operate in, and how we struggle to impose that view on our data processing machines. The concerns at this level are the same whether we use hierarchical, relational, or object-oriented information structures; whether we process data via punched-card machines or interactive graphic interfaces; whether we correspond by paper mail or e-mail; whether we shop from paper-based catalogs or the web. No matter what the technology, these underlying issues have to be understood.
You can read this book for insights into the basis of computer data processing. You can also read it for insights into the way we perceive reality, and the constructs and tactics we use to cope with complexity, ambiguity, incomplete information, mismatched viewpoints, and conflicting objectives.
This new edition preserves the original content with minor cleanup and a new preface. The format, though, has been thoroughly modernized. That ugly typewriter font is gone! It’s now a pleasure for the eyes as well as the mind. And it’s still as relevant as ever.Preface to the Second Edition
Preface
Entities
The Nature of an Information System
Naming
Relationships
Attributes
Types and Categories and Sets
Models
The Record Model
The Other Three Popular Models
The Modeling of Relationships
Elementary Concepts: Another Model?
Philosophy
Bibliography
Detailed Contents