Re: Using Postgres as an alias - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

On 9/26/2007 10:34 PM, Adrian Klaver wrote:
> in the USA and UK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6988521.stm). Officially
> imperial units are the standard in both countries with metric units existing
> in parallel. The failure to make the switch is chalked up to the difficulties
> it would impose (sound familiar). The reality is that as an end user I have
> to use and am familiar with metric system. I understand the difficulties
> inherent in change of any sort, but change happens and it is time to get out
> in front of this one.

While the 1866 US legislation officially legalized the metric system
(allowing measurements to be given in metric only and no court shall
rule them illegal), the 1902 legislation failed to force the government
to use metric only *by one vote*.

Funny enough, all the countries I know who actually did changes of that
magnitude had success in the end. And changing to metric is by far not
the largest scale change. Turkey for example switched from arabic
writing to a western style using a latin based alphabet in the late
1920's. It began in May 1928 and although many members of the Turkish
Great National Assembly originally wanted it to be done gradually over 5
years or so, on January 1st, 1929 it became illegal to write Turkish in
arabic letters. Think about it, they made the whole nation illiterate
over night and it worked! The language reform is controversial to this
day and that is, in my opinion, a good thing because it keeps the
heritage alive. But I guess nobody on any side of that multi-dimensional
fence would doubt that the actual cash value of using a latin based
writing system became very clear when Turkey applied to join the
European Community (today known as European Union) in 1947. Of course,
it only took 50 years to actually become a full member of the EU in 1999
... but that only shows that European bureaucracy can well compete with
its American counterpart.

Here we are, 80 years after the Turks demonstrated what can be done and
many members of our PostgreaseQL Great International Assembly think it
is best to do it gradually over 5 years or so. And they make sure that
any possible vote to force otherwise will fail *at least by one*.

Remember: If you make all the same mistakes again, you have a very good
chance that history repeats itself.


Jan


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