openedit

Lets say you need to organize 2000 people on a football field. A relational database would create 2000 little boxes and make everyone stay in their little box. If someone needed to move around, they would first need to inform the administrator so that the administrator doesn't lose track of everyone. A file based system on the other hand would hand out a cell phone to everyone and tell them to have fun. If someone needs you, we'll give you a call. Just make sure you don't lose your cell phone. Beyond that, have a great day.

A relational database was a good system. It was also created in a time where searching a million files took more than milliseconds. It was a product of limitations. It wasn't necessarily the ideal solution, but it was a good solution given the tools at hand. Those limitations are gone. Those limitations are in the past. New technology and mind boggling search capabilities have opened the door for new options that weren't available 20 years ago.

File based applications are the next evolution for information management. Especially for the web.

Why? Because it's easier understand. It's not that you aren't smart enough to understand a database. It's that you don't have to understand a database. Especially when you already understand how to use a file based system.