Editing Christopher J. Date

{{Short description|British database researcher (born 1941)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = cdate2.jpg
| image_size         = 
| name               = Chris Date
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1941|1|18|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Watford]], [[England]]
| alma_mater         = [[University of Cambridge]]
| employer           = (until 1983) [[IBM]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = [[Relational database]] theory
| occupation         = Author, lecturer, researcher and consultant, specializing in relational database theory
| nationality        = British
}}

'''Christopher John Date''' (born 18 January 1941<ref>{{cite interview|last=Date|first=Chris|date=June 13, 2007|interviewer=Thomas Haigh|location=Mountain View, California|institution=Computer History Museum|title=Oral History of C. J. Date|page=3|url=https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/05/102658166-05-01-acc.pdf|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref>) is a British independent author, lecturer, researcher and consultant, specialising in [[relational database]] theory.

==Biography==
Chris Date attended [[Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe|High Wycombe Royal Grammar School]] from 1951 to 1958 and received his [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in [[Mathematics]] from [[Cambridge University]] in 1962. He entered the computer business as a mathematical programmer at [[LEO (computer)|Leo Computers Ltd]]. (London), where he quickly moved into education and training. In 1966, he earned his master's degree at Cambridge, and, in 1967, he joined [[IBM]] Hursley (UK) as a [[computer programming]] instructor. Between 1969 and 1974, he was a principal instructor in IBM's European education program.

While working at IBM he was involved in technical planning and design for the IBM products [[IBM SQL/DS|SQL/DS]] and [[IBM DB2|DB2]].
He was also involved with [[Edgar F. Codd]]'s [[relational model]] for database management.
He left IBM in 1983 and has written extensively of the relational model, in association with [[Hugh Darwen]].

As of 2007 his book ''An Introduction to Database Systems'', currently in its 8th edition, has sold well over 700,000 copies,<ref>{{cite news |title=Data Management Association, January 2007 Newsletter |url=http://sfdama.org/NewsletterArchive/2007/newsletter2007-01.htm |access-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118105227/http://sfdama.org/NewsletterArchive/2007/newsletter2007-01.htm |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> not counting translations, and is used by several hundred colleges and universities worldwide.

He is also the author of many other books on [[data management]], most notably ''Databases, Types, and the Relational Model'', subtitled and commonly referred to as ''The Third Manifesto'', currently in its third edition (note that earlier editions were titled differently, but maintained the same subtitle), a proposal for the future direction of [[DBMS]]s.

==Works==
Chris Date is the author of several books, including:
* Several volumes of ''Relational Database Writings'': {{ISBN|0-201-39814-1}}, {{ISBN|0-201-82459-0}}, {{ISBN|0-201-54303-6}}, {{ISBN|0-201-50881-8}}.
* ''A Guide to the SQL standard, 4th ed.'', Addison Wesley, USA 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-201-96426-4}}
* ''What Not How: The Business Rules Approach to Application Development'', 2000,  {{ISBN|0-201-70850-7}}
* ''The Database Relational Model: A Retrospective Review and Analysis'', 2001, {{ISBN|0-201-61294-1}}
* ''Temporal Data & the Relational Model'', 2003, {{ISBN|1-55860-855-9}}
* ''An Introduction to Database Systems'', 2004, {{ISBN|0-321-19784-4}}
* ''Database in Depth: Relational Theory for Practitioners'', 2005, {{ISBN|0-596-10012-4}}
* ''Databases, Types, and the Relational Model, The Third Manifesto'' (with [[Hugh Darwen]]), 2007, {{ISBN|0-321-39942-0}}
* ''SQL and Relational Theory, 2nd Edition: How to Write Accurate SQL Code'', 2011, {{ISBN|1-4493-1640-9}}.

In recent years he has published articles with [[Fabian Pascal]] at Database Debunkings.

==See also==
*[[Nikos Lorentzos]]
*[[David McGoveran]]
*[[Fabian Pascal]]
*[[Lex de Haan]]

==References==

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Christopher}}
[[Category:IBM employees]]
[[Category:Database researchers]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Watford]]
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe]]