View source for Fabian Pascal

{{Short description|Romanian-American consultant}}
'''Fabian Pascal''' is a Romanian-American consultant to large software vendors such as [[IBM]], [[Oracle Corporation]], and [[Borland]], but he is better known as an author and seminar speaker.  Born in [[Romania]], Pascal lives in the [[San Francisco]], CA area of the US, and works in association with [[Christopher J. Date]].

Pascal is known for his sharp criticisms of the [[data management]] industry, [[magazine|trade press]], the current state of [[higher education]], [[Western culture]] and alleged [[media bias]].  Pascal advocates strict adherence to the principles of the relational model, and argues that departing from the model in the name of pragmatism is responsible for serious data management troubles. Criticism of Pascal's advocacy often centers around his polemical style, which some perceive as overly confrontational and unprofessional.<ref name = "Gadget">{{cite web | url = http://www.gadgetopia.com/post/4299 | title = Fabian Pascal is Smarter Than Me | publisher = Gadgetopia | date = 2005-09-03}}</ref>

He publishes political commentary on ''The PostWest'' blog about the decline of Western education and civilization and  Middle East issues.<ref name = "Fall">{{cite web | url = https://fallofknowledgeandreason.blogspot.com/ | title = The PostWest | first = Fabian | last = Pascal | date = December 2006 – September 2008 | access-date = 2010-12-02 | archive-date = 2012-05-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120514080110/http://fallofknowledgeandreason.blogspot.com/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

== Quotes ==
* "A lot of what is being said, written, or done in the database management field — or whatever is left of it — by vendors, the trade press and "experts" is irrelevant, misleading, or outright wrong. While this is to a degree true of computing in general, in the database field the problems are so acute that, claims to the contrary notwithstanding, technology is actually regressing!"<ref>{{cite web | work = IT tool box | url = http://database.ittoolbox.com/blogs/featuredentry.asp?i=5426 | title =  Viewpoint of a Database Analyst: A Database Design Principles Blog | first = Alf | last = Pedersen | date = 2005-08-19}}</ref>
* "The relational model is application of science — logic and math — to database management.  The notion that one is "fanatic" about that is tantamount to claiming that civil engineering is fanatical about the laws of physics. Such a claim reveals problems more serious than ignorance of data fundamentals, and THAT is what deserves disdain." Fabian Pascal, August 29, 2005 <ref>{{cite web | url = https://groups.google.com/group/comp.databases.oracle.misc/browse_thread/thread/df51365a5f7bb465/1c70aef18afc44c4?#3ce5afc136c5f5c3 | title = What do Oracle professionals think of Fabian Pascal? | work = comp.databases.oracle.misc | publisher = Google Groups}}</ref>

==Publications==
*{{cite book |last=  Pascal |first=Fabian |title=SQL and relational basics  |year=1990 |publisher=M&T Books |location= [[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]], [[California|CA]] |isbn= 1-55851-063-X |oclc= 21037159 |lccn=90005525|id= {{LCC|QA76.73.S67 P37 1990}}}}  336 pp.

*{{cite book |last = Pascal  |first = Fabian |title = Understanding relational databases with examples in SQL-92 |year = 1993 |publisher  = Wiley |location   = [[New York City|New York]], [[New York (state)|NY]]  |isbn       = 0-471-58538-6 |oclc       = 27812796 |lccn       = 93007595 |id         = {{LCC|QA76.9.D3 P3486 1993}} |url-access = registration |url        = https://archive.org/details/understandingrel00pasc}}  278 pp.

*{{cite book |last=  Pascal |first=Fabian |title=Practical issues in database management : a reference for the thinking practitioner |year=2000 |publisher= Addison-Wesley  |location= [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts|MA]] |isbn= 0-201-48555-9 |oclc=43434672 |lccn=00022984|id= {{LCC|QA76.9.D3 P34855 2000}}}}  256 pp.

==See also==
*[[Christopher J. Date]]
*[[Hugh Darwen]]
*[[David McGoveran]]
*[[Principle of orthogonal design]] (POOD)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | url = https://www.dbdebunk.com  | title = Database Debunkings | first = Fabian | last = Pascal | access-date = 2025-08-01 }} Educational blog about data and relational fundamentals.
* {{cite web | url = http://www.wilshireconferences.com/interviews/pascal.htm | title = Truth, Fads and Principles: What's Wrong with the Database Industry? (An interview) | first = Fabian | last = Pascal | publisher = Wilshire conferences | access-date = 2005-05-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050405203410/http://www.wilshireconferences.com/interviews/pascal.htm | archive-date = 2005-04-05 | url-status = dead }}.
* {{cite web | url = http://www.dbazine.com/top-auth/top-auth-pascal/ | title = Articles | first = Fabian | last = Pascal | publisher = DBAzine | access-date = 2006-07-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060813203710/http://www.dbazine.com/top-auth/top-auth-pascal/ | archive-date = 2006-08-13 | url-status = dead }}.
* {{cite web | url = https://fallofknowledgeandreason.blogspot.com/ | first = Fabian | last = Pascal | date = December 2006 – September 2008 | title = The Post West | access-date = 2010-12-02 | archive-date = 2012-05-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120514080110/http://fallofknowledgeandreason.blogspot.com/ | url-status = dead }}.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, Fabian}}
[[Category:Romanian computer scientists]]
[[Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Database specialists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]


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