[Bf-python] More Proposed API changes.

[Stephen Swaney]

On Fri, Mar 09, 2007 at 11:57:49AM -0800, Martin Poirier wrote:
> 
> --- Stephen Swaney <sswaney at centurytel.net> wrote:
> 
> > I would be interesting in hearing that argument.
> 
> IIRC, my argument was that this representation of
> Blender's internal was very far from what people
> usually think of as a database (as in relational
> database).

Ah, you young whippersnappers and your fancy relational model!

Blender uses what used to be called a network database.  Back
before Codd wrote his papers on the relational model (~1974, IIRC)
a popular database structure was a network model where you
navigated from one record to another via pointers.  CODASYL was
another name for the network model after the commitee that formulated
it.

Rather than the set theoretic "Select * from Meshes where 
mesh_name == 'Cube'", in a network DB you walked thru the linked 
lists looking for the data item you want.  Just like Blender!

The network model may sound clunky - and for ad hoc queries
it is - but it can be blazing fast on queries like rendering
all the objects in a scene that require access to all the items 
in a list.  Just like Blender! 

Enough history.  Although this does lead to some interesting 
speculation on replacing Blender's internal database with 
something else.  Multi-user distributed DB for big projects?



> Seconded (both the import by default and the name
> suggestions).

Bpy (#1) or bpython (#2) are the best names I've heard so far.
Ok by me.

-- 
Stephen Swaney			
sswaney at centurytel.net