David McGoveran (born 1952) is an American computer scientist and physicist, software industry analyst, and inventor. In computer science, he is recognized as one of the pioneers of
relational database theory.
Education
David McGoveran majored in physics and mathematics, and minored in
cognition and communication at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
from 1973 to 1976, with graduate studies in physics and
psycholinguistics. He pursued additional graduate studies from 1976 to 1979 at
Stanford University.
Career
While a student he was employed by the
Enrico Fermi Institute
__NOTOC__
The Institute for Nuclear Studies was founded September 1945 as part of the University of Chicago with Samuel King Allison as director. On November 20, 1955, it was renamed The Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies. The name was s ...
's Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research (Chicago 1973-4),
Dow Chemical Company's Western Applied Science and Technology Laboratories (Walnut Creek, CA 1974), and
University of Chicago Hospitals
The University of Chicago Medical Center (UChicago Medicine) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. It is the flagship campus for The University of Chicago Medicine system and was establi ...
and Clinics (1975-6). After graduation from University of Chicago, he founded the consulting firm of Alternative Technologies(Menlo Park, CA 1976) under the mentoring of
H. Dean Brown and
Cuthbert Hurd. While starting his consulting practice, he worked at
SRI International
SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...
(1976-9), his first consulting client.
Between 1979 and 1981, he taught electronics engineering in the Professional Engineering Institute at
Menlo College
Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California.
Campus
Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...
(Redwood City, CA) and was Chairman of the Computer Science and Business Departments at Condie College (San Jose, CA), developing the schools bachelor program in computer science.
Alternative Technologies has provided consulting on the design and development of numerous software systems, specializing in
mission critical and distributed applications. Clients have included AT&T, Blue Cross, Digital Equipment, Goldman Sachs, HP, IBM, Microsoft, MCI-Worldcom, Oracle, and many others.
McGoveran's software engineering contributions include a collaborative conferencing system (1978); multi-tier relational CIM (
computer integrated manufacturing
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the manufacturing approach of using computers to control the entire production process. This integration allows individual processes to exchange information with each part. Manufacturing can be faster ...
) system (Fasttrack, 1982); relational access manager (1984–89); international
electronic funds transfer
Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems, without the direct intervention of b ...
(1984);
trading systems databases (1986–91);
OLCP requirements (1986); an
object-relational portfolio management (1986–89); first
Sybase SQL Server PC client (1987);
client-server API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
requirements (1988);
object-relational API requirements (1990);
query optimizer requirements (1990); first
middleware
Middleware is a type of computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue".
Middleware makes it easier for software developers to implement c ...
market analysis
A market analysis studies the attractiveness and the dynamics of a special market within a special industry. It is part of the industry analysis and thus in turn of the global environmental analysis. Through all of these analyses the strengths, w ...
and forecast (1991); Database Connectivity
Benchmark
Benchmark may refer to:
Business and economics
* Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations
* Benchmark price
* Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices
Science and technology
* Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...
(1993); numerous
high availability
High availability (HA) is a characteristic of a system which aims to ensure an agreed level of operational performance, usually uptime, for a higher than normal period.
Modernization has resulted in an increased reliance on these systems. F ...
and
scalable systems (1994–96); and designed BPMS products and established the BPM category (1998-2000) with
HP and
IBM.
He has chaired various professional conferences (1975-2001). He assesses software opportunities and risks for vendors,
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
ists and other investors; and occasionally serves as an expert in software
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
litigation.
Research
Mathematical Logic
Work on applications of
mathematical logic
Mathematical logic is the study of formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory. Research in mathematical logic commonly addresses the mathematical properties of formal ...
has pervaded Mr. McGoveran's career (1971–present). He has done original research and published on the structure of
paradoxes
A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...
, applications of
quantum logic
In the mathematical study of logic and the physical analysis of quantum foundations, quantum logic is a set of rules for manipulation of propositions inspired by the structure of quantum theory. The field takes as its starting point an observ ...
to
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
, linguistic logic and
computational semantics
Computational semantics is the study of how to automate the process of constructing and reasoning with meaning representations of natural language expressions. It consequently plays an important role in natural-language processing and computatio ...
(under
James D. McCawley),
fuzzy logic, and applications of logic, including
multi-valued logics, to databases.
Transaction Management
Beginning in 1981, Mr. McGoveran began consulting on the design of transaction processing systems, including
distributed transactions A distributed transaction is a database transaction in which two or more network hosts are involved. Usually, hosts provide transactional resources, while the transaction manager is responsible for creating and managing a global transaction that enc ...
. Investigations into the complexity and cost of distributed transactions, as well as the difficulty of maintaining transactional consistency in online applications led to research into alternatives to the traditional transaction models that used pessimistic
concurrency control
In information technology and computer science, especially in the fields of computer programming, operating systems, multiprocessors, and databases, concurrency control ensures that correct results for concurrent operations are generated, while ...
and enforced
ACID properties. McGoveran defined physical transactions as the unit of recovery, logical transactions as the unit of consistency, and business transactions as the unit of audit The resulting adaptive transaction model introduces a transaction intrinsic definition of consistency, deferring the decision to combine the results of two or more transactions. His work on transaction management resulted in the award of US Patent No 7,103,597.
Relational Data Model and Related Research
McGoveran's research on
E.F. Codd's
relational model has focused on the issues of data modeling (database design),
missing information, and view updating. The last two are considered by some database researchers to be the most difficult and controversial problems in relational database research.
Having worked on the design and development of several early large scale, distributed, commercial relational database applications, McGoveran sought to improve upon the science of
database design. This work lead to the development of
#new analyses of and solutions to the problem of "missing information" and avoiding the use of
nulls and therefore many-valued logic
#the specification and uses of relation predicates (relation or set membership functions) as an application of
Leibniz' Law
#a new design principle (with
C. J. Date) now known as the
Principle of Orthogonal Design {{primary sources, date=March 2014
The principle of orthogonal design (abbreviated POOD) was developed by database researchers David McGoveran and Christopher J. Date in the early 1990s, and first published "A New Database Design Principle" in the J ...
(POOD)
His work on logic applied to relational databases and on design without nulls (1993) has been republished several times.
McGoveran tackled the problem of view updating with
Christopher J. Date
Chris Date (born 1941) is an independent author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant, specializing in relational database theory.
Biography
Chris Date attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School (U.K.) from 1951 to 1958 and received his BA i ...
starting in 1993 after having developed methods for reversible schema migration for clients on Wall Street. His solution, based on relation predicates, formed the basis for the algorithms found in The Third Manifesto (Christopher J. Date,
Hugh Darwen
Hugh Darwen is a computer scientist who was an employee of IBM United Kingdom from 1967. to 2004, and has been involved in the development of the relational model.
Work
From 1978 to 1982 he was a chief architect on Business System 12, a dat ...
) for updating virtual relations (e.g., views). Date has credited McGoveran with originally suggesting the basic idea for the view updating approach, and which Hugh Darwen says represented a major shift in thinking on the issue. This work has resulted in two
patents (U.S. Patent 7,620,664 and U.S. Patent 7,263,512).
Some of McGoveran's work on databases is discussed at
Fabian Pascal's Database Debunkings web site.
EAI and Business Process Management
After consulting on numerous
data integration
Data integration involves combining data residing in different sources and providing users with a unified view of them.
This process becomes significant in a variety of situations, which include both commercial (such as when two similar companies ...
and
enterprise application integration
Enterprise application integration (EAI) is the use of software and computer systems' architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.
Overview
Enterprise application integration is an integration framework comp ...
projects, and related
middleware
Middleware is a type of computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue".
Middleware makes it easier for software developers to implement c ...
products, McGoveran recognized that process aspects of integration were largely overlooked. Most
business process
A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...
technology focused on analyzing and documenting existing business processes, then manually "
reengineering" the processes to eliminate waste, remove bottlenecks, and improve cycle times. These efforts were largely disjoint from
process automation systems and
distributed control system
A distributed control system (DCS) is a computerised control system for a process or plant usually with many control loops, in which autonomous controllers are distributed throughout the system, but there is no central operator supervisory contro ...
s (which focused on highly repetitive, often continuous processes), and
workflow
A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence o ...
technologies (which focused on highly repetitive sequential processes like document processing).
McGoveran postulated an analogy between data management and process management. Just as the relational data model proposed separating the logical model of the data from the physical storage model, it seemed that a logical process model (i.e., the business process model) should be separated from its physical implementation (e.g., as messaging, remote invocation, services, etc.). As with the relational model, this would permit
business process design via models that were logically separated from specifics of process implementation, process scheduling, and
process optimization
Process optimization is the discipline of adjusting a process so as to optimize (make the best or most effective use of) some specified set of parameters without violating some constraint. The most common goals are minimizing cost and maximizing ...
. By introducing process measurement and analytics into the proposed
process management system,
closed loop process control became theoretically possible. The result was a set of requirements and a canonical architecture for the then largely unknown
business process management
Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company's business p ...
system (BPMS).
The first commercial package compliant with this BPMS architecture ChangEngine - was then built and introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1997-98 under McGoveran's direction. Subsequently, McGoveran introduced these concepts at DCI's EAI conference in 1999, through work as Sr. Technical Editor of the eAI Journal (Thomas Communications) and worked with companies like IBM, Vitria,
Candle
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time.
A person who makes candle ...
, Fuego, Savvion, and numerous others to help shape the market and the BPM category. Many workflow and business process reengineering (BPR) companies joined in the effort, transforming themselves into BPM companies during the period 1999-2010.
Affiliations
*Secretary-treasurer of the Alternative Natural Philosophy Association (Cambridge University) from 1982-1986, and served as co-editor of the organizations newsletter with John Amson.
*Co-founder, Alternative Natural Philosophy Association West (ANPA West) and its non-profit corporation (1984), along with H. Pierre Noyes and Chris Gefwert, organized its first three conferences, and was recipient Second Annual Alternative Natural Philosopher Award in 1990.
*Co-founder, Database Associates with Colin White, Richard Finkelstein, and Paul Winsberg (1990).
*Wrote and published (initially with Colin White) the Database Product Evaluation Reports (1989-1996).
*Founded the 60 member Enterprise Integration Council (1999-2002).
*ACM Life Member (1983)
*Amer. Math. Society Life Member (1996)
*IEEE Member (1978).
*Consulting editor for an international research journal (1975-6)
*Associate editor for InfoDB (1990-4)
*Sr. technical editor of the eAI Journal/Business Integration Journal (1999-2006).
*He served as a judge in technology awards including the CrossRoads A-List, the eAI Journal and Business Integration Journal Awards, and the IBM Beacon Awards.
IBM Beacon Awards Distinguish Outstanding Business Partner Achievements in 2002. New Orleans, LA:IBM.
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Selected publications
McGoveran has written articles in the fields of relational databases, transaction processing, business intelligence, enterprise application integration, business process management, mathematics, and physics, including over 100 monthly columns for ''eAI Journal'' (a.k.a. ''Business Integration Journal'') throughout the life of the journal.
Books
*McGoveran, D., Date, C. J. (1992). A Guide to SYBASE and SQL Server. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. .
*Date, C.J., Darwen, H., McGoveran, D. (1998). Relational Database Writings, 1994-1997. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. .
Encyclopedia articles
*McGoveran, D., (1991). The Evaluation of Optimizers. Encyclopedia Computer Science and Technology: Volume 26, Supplement 11. New York, NY:Marcel Dekker.
*McGoveran, D., (1993). The Evaluation of Optimizers. Encyclopedia of Microcomputers: Volume 13. New York, NY: CRC Press. & .
References
External links
Alternative Technologies
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGoveran, David
Living people
American technology writers
1952 births