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Papers
Some of my papers are described below. Where I have copies, they are available to be read online or to be downloaded.

53KB
The Digital Representation of Dates
Unpublished work describing an algorithm that was implemented
A view of the calendar that was implemented and used in a number of software products. None of these products had anything go wrong in 2000. (Neither did they do anything more than check that the Y2K transition would be painless.)

30KB
The Interpretation of Structured Stored Data Using Delimiters
Presented at the ACM SICFIDET Workshop in Houston in 1970
In this paper I describe a simple algorithm for marrying the schema of a complex data structure with a string of values representing instances of the objects in the database. The schema has to be available in order to interpret the data. Two delimiters from the ANSI-standard character set are used: the unit separator (hex 1C) and the record separator (hex 1D).

260KB
A Set-Theoretic View of Database Representation
Presented at the ACM SIGMOD Workshop in Ann Arbor in 1974
This paper proposes that a set-theoretic view of databases be adopted. It deals with a database representation that I feel enhances implementations on digital computers. The many advantages of adopting this approach include: non-redundant storage of data, controlled access to the database, and the ability to restructure the schema without precluding user access to the data.

362KB
Sets as a Model for Database Representation: Much Ado About Something
Presented by invitation at the ACM PACIFIC '75 Conference in San Francisco in 1975
A more formal presentation of the ideas introduced in the SIGMOD 74 paper (above). While it isn't easy reading, this paper is quite rigorous. The presentation was well received at the conference.

58KB
A Disciplined Approach to Solving Problems
Presented by invitation to a software engineering conference at the University of Aarhus in 1978
Designing a solution to a problem is difficult. Experience, and a disciplined review of the pertinent data and relevant alternatives, can help to stimulate one's creative intuition. A mechanism for disciplining the reviewing process - in the form of decision tables - is put forward.