Successful manager of software development for several startups including Illustra.
Talk : ``Unsafe at any speed: database software developement issues in the 20th century''
Abstract:
For many years, automobile manufacturers claimed that it was not the design of the cars that killed people in accidents. They claimed that the major factor was that the drivers were driving too fast. Ralph Nader's landmark book ``Unsafe At Any Speed'' broke down that argument by showing that the automobile designs on the time were inherently unsafe, at any speed, thus influencing a whole industry change.
Twentieth century database software is unsafe. In my 20 years of experience in this field, I have found that the major problems we face are not those of finding new algorithms. The problems are implementing those algorithms safely: reliably, robustly. Current software engineering thought is that it is the programmers' fault, because the programmers are following unsafe processes, that we are "driving too fast". What is needed for the twenty-first century is an entire new paradigm of database software design principles and tools. I will discuss the current state of the art, and will brainstorm with the audience on what we believe the database development environment for 21st century programmers should be.
View Paula's PowerPoint Presentation