Database Cargo Cult

Today, I have attended an epic product walk-through. When the demonstrator came to explore the database of the application and opened the stored procedures directory, the audience was aghast at the shocking display of hundreds of these entities. I have been told it is the canonical way of developing applications in the Microsoft world. It is well possible, as it creates a favorable vendor coupling, but, to me, it is more a matter of database cargo cult.

The fallacy of the database as an application tier is only equated by the folly of using it as an integration platform. Both approaches create a paramount technical debt that takes many years to pay, if it is ever paid. Why? Because both approaches lack the abstraction layer that you need to create loosely coupled systems. Why again? Because both approaches preclude any sound testing strategy.

I have already talked about what I think are valid use cases for stored procedures. You do not need to believe me. Check what my colleague Tim has to say about it. And you do not need to believe him either, but at least read what Neal Ford says about it.

If you are still not convinced, then I have for you the perfect shape for your diagrams:

1BDB stands for one big database. And if you are in a database cargo cult, you already know why it is in flame.