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Thread: Re: What is a "tuple"

Re: What is a "tuple"

From
Kristoff Bonne
Date:
Greetings, (and also Alex)

On Fri, 22 Jun 2001, Josh Berkus wrote:
> > Excuse my lack my 'database'-jargon, but what is a 'tuple'?

> Also known as a "Record", or a "Row".  The word "tuple" is used because
> it can refer to a row returned as part of a result set as well as a
> record in a table.  Strictly speaking, a row returned from most queries
> is not a record, as that row does not exist in permanent storage
> anywhere .... it is created by the query.  Hence, "tuple".

Thanks!

Cheerio! Kr. Bonne.
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Re: What is a "tuple"

From
"Ross J. Reedstrom"
Date:
On Fri, Jun 22, 2001 at 06:31:03PM +0200, Kristoff Bonne wrote:
> Greetings, (and also Alex)
> 
> On Fri, 22 Jun 2001, Josh Berkus wrote:
> > > Excuse my lack my 'database'-jargon, but what is a 'tuple'?
> 
> > Also known as a "Record", or a "Row".  The word "tuple" is used because
> > it can refer to a row returned as part of a result set as well as a
> > record in a table.  Strictly speaking, a row returned from most queries
> > is not a record, as that row does not exist in permanent storage
> > anywhere .... it is created by the query.  Hence, "tuple".

It's probably a back formation from the suffix 'tuple' as in the sequence:

single, double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple, septuple, ...

So, mathematicians generalized this (as is their wont) to 

[algebraic expression]-tuple, such as:
       n-tuple, (n^2)-tuple

Which found their way to The Relational Algebra, simplified to just
'tuple' and hence, to SQL.

Ross (way to much detail!) Reedstrom

Re: What is a "tuple"

From
Jan Wieck
Date:
Ross J. Reedstrom wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 22, 2001 at 06:31:03PM +0200, Kristoff Bonne wrote:
> > Greetings, (and also Alex)
> >
> > On Fri, 22 Jun 2001, Josh Berkus wrote:
> > > > Excuse my lack my 'database'-jargon, but what is a 'tuple'?
> >
> > > Also known as a "Record", or a "Row".  The word "tuple" is used because
> > > it can refer to a row returned as part of a result set as well as a
> > > record in a table.  Strictly speaking, a row returned from most queries
> > > is not a record, as that row does not exist in permanent storage
> > > anywhere .... it is created by the query.  Hence, "tuple".
>
> It's probably a back formation from the suffix 'tuple' as in the sequence:
>
> single, double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple, septuple, ...
>
> So, mathematicians generalized this (as is their wont) to
>
> [algebraic expression]-tuple, such as:
>
>         n-tuple, (n^2)-tuple
>
> Which found their way to The Relational Algebra, simplified to just
> 'tuple' and hence, to SQL.
>
> Ross (way to much detail!) Reedstrom
   At least it's for sure detailed enough :-)


Jan

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