From 334c7151ea2af5f7c138141d3d31defe9906eeec Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Steven McCanne Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2026 09:09:59 -0800 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] improve flow of evolving-sql text in book intro --- book/src/intro.md | 31 ++++++++++++++++--------------- 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-) diff --git a/book/src/intro.md b/book/src/intro.md index 8f54b61b4..48fed328f 100644 --- a/book/src/intro.md +++ b/book/src/intro.md @@ -395,9 +395,8 @@ the polymorphic algebra of super-structured data implemented by SuperDB. ## Evolving SQL Despite SQL's enduring success, -it is widely accepted that there are serious flaws in the language and -a number of authors argue that SQL should be replaced in its entirety. -Among many such works, here are some noteworthy arguments: +it is widely accepted that there are serious flaws with the language. +Here are some noteworthy arguments that build the case: * [A Critique of the SQL Database Language](https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/984549.984551) a 1983 paper by @@ -409,25 +408,27 @@ Query Language](https://www.cidrdb.org/cidr2024/papers/p48-neumann.pdf) by [Neumann](https://db.in.tum.de/~neumann/) and [Leis](https://www.cs.cit.tum.de/dis/team/prof-dr-viktor-leis/). -A very different approach is taken in -[SQL Has Problems. We Can Fix Them: Pipe Syntax In SQL](https://research.google/pubs/sql-has-problems-we-can-fix-them-pipe-syntax-in-sql/), which argues that SQL -should be merely improved upon and not replaced outright. -Here the authors argue that except for compositional syntax, SQL is +These publications all argue that SQL is so problematic it should +be replaced outright. In contrast, the authors of +[SQL Has Problems. We Can Fix Them: Pipe Syntax In SQL](https://research.google/pubs/sql-has-problems-we-can-fix-them-pipe-syntax-in-sql/) propose that SQL +should be merely improved upon by creating a superset of SQL. +Except for compositional syntax, the paper says SQL is perfectly reasonable and we should live with its anachronisms (see Section 2.4). Thus, their [Pipe SQL specification](https://github.com/google/zetasql/blob/master/docs/pipe-syntax.md) carries forward SQL eccentricities into their modern adaptation of pipes for SQL. -SuperSQL takes a different approach and seizes the opportunity to modernize -the ergonomics of a SQL-compatible query language. -While embracing backward compatibility, +SuperSQL takes this approach of backward compatibility further +and seizes on the opportunity to introduce a language that is both +SQL compatible but also adapted to super-structured data. +In this way, SuperSQL diverges significantly from SQL anachronisms in the pipe portion of -the language by introducing -[pipe scoping](super-sql/intro.md#pipe-scoping) semantics -that coexist next to the -[relational scoping](super-sql/intro.md#relational-scoping) semantics -of SQL tables and columns. +the language by introducing the concept of +[pipe scoping](super-sql/intro.md#pipe-scoping) while exploting the +static typing of super-structured data +to simultaneously support [relational scoping](super-sql/intro.md#relational-scoping) +for SQL tables and columns. The vision here is that comprehensive backward compatibility can reside in the SQL operators while a modernized syntax and From 1cd1ef600e40fc697aa13e8cc502c04c34d3cf5b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Steven McCanne Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2026 10:36:04 -0800 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] address PR feedback --- book/src/intro.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/book/src/intro.md b/book/src/intro.md index 48fed328f..47ac000b4 100644 --- a/book/src/intro.md +++ b/book/src/intro.md @@ -421,11 +421,11 @@ of pipes for SQL. SuperSQL takes this approach of backward compatibility further and seizes on the opportunity to introduce a language that is both -SQL compatible but also adapted to super-structured data. +SQL compatible and also adapted to super-structured data. In this way, SuperSQL diverges significantly from SQL anachronisms in the pipe portion of the language by introducing the concept of -[pipe scoping](super-sql/intro.md#pipe-scoping) while exploting the +[pipe scoping](super-sql/intro.md#pipe-scoping) while exploiting the static typing of super-structured data to simultaneously support [relational scoping](super-sql/intro.md#relational-scoping) for SQL tables and columns.