I think tuple comes from a more classical description where tables are
relations and is mainly used in the description of relational model
concepts.
Elmasri and Nevathe (Fundamentals of Database Systems) describe a tuple as a
row and don't seem to make any distinction between the two, Date
(Introduction to Database Systems) promises as full and formal description
of exactly what a tuple is but doesn't deliver it and makes the same
equivelence. At Uni we used tuples and the more formal relation language to
describe databases but at work we use rows as the language is more easily
understood.
I do agree with your point that it may be a way to impress more than inform
but think it may be just a language thing, with some people preferring one
over the other.
Steve
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Siebert [mailto:dsiebert@eclipsecat.com]
> Sent: 27 June 2002 14:17
> To: Martijn van Oosterhout
> Cc: pgsql-general@postgresql.org
> Subject: Re: [GENERAL] What is a tuple?
>
>
> Tuple = row... Why not just use row? I know what a tuple is
> but it seems
> like a word to impress more than inform.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pgsql-general-owner@postgresql.org
> [mailto:pgsql-general-owner@postgresql.org]On Behalf Of Martijn van
> Oosterhout
> Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 10:54 PM
> To: Elaine Lindelef
> Cc: pgsql-general@postgresql.org
> Subject: Re: [GENERAL] What is a tuple?
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 25, 2002 at 02:40:03PM -0700, Elaine Lindelef wrote:
> > My apologies for the stupid question, but before I started using
> > postgres I never came across the word "tuple" quite in this context
> > before. I know a "tuple" as "a data object containing two or more
> > components" ... but I'm not sure of its precise meaning in the
> > postgres universe. Is a tuple a row, a field value, a field value
> > paired with its datatype, what? If someone asks me the size of my
> > largest tuple, how do I calculate it? It seems to be related deeply
> > to the structure of postgres somehow.
>
> A tuple is a row. Isn't this in the glossary somewhere?
> --
> Martijn van Oosterhout <kleptog@svana.org>
> http://svana.org/kleptog/
> > There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that can do binary
> > arithmetic and those that can't.
>
>
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