Modeling real world data in your computer system is going to be a pain.

· Bits and Bobs 2/18/25
  • Modeling real world data in your computer system is going to be a pain.
    • It can either be a persistent, annoying upfront tax.
      • Which, if you aren't a motivated expert, might stop you before you ever get going.
    • Or it can be kicking the can down the road until it stochastically explodes in your face in the future or becomes ever-more viscous quicksand.
    • It's easy to get started sketching stuff out in a spreadsheet, but it's hard to make it predictable, testable, and orderly.
    • The more you invest in the spreadsheet, the more unwieldy it gets.
      • It is default-diverging.
    • The more you invest in a database, the more orderly it gets.
      • But databases require work to massage messy real world data to fit into the existing schema, or annoying work to evolve the schema.