Comment by tptacek
2 months ago
A schema isn't software in the sense imagined by the ILGA. If it was, every Excel spreadsheet would be too, and Excel spreadsheets are the basic currency of FOIA.
An "operating protocol" is a step-by-step list of things to accomplish some action. It's a finite state machine for humans. Obviously, a schema isn't that; a schema is declarative, and an operating protocol is imperative.
The court definitively established that SQL schemas aren't source code in the sense imagined by the ILGA. SQL queries can be. Schemas are not.
See downthread for why a schema isn't a file format. In fact, a schema is almost the opposite of a file format.
A court will look at the term "documentation" in the ordinary sense of the word; as in, "a prose description and set of instructions".
"Associated with automated data processing operations" isn't an element in the statute; it's a description of all of the elements.
If the Excel spreadsheet has formulas in it, it's software. If you're just talking about the data in the sheet, i.e. what you'd get exporting it as a CSV, then it's not.
Col types, unique/FK/PK constraints, default values, and computed cols define the steps for handling row inserts/updates/deletes. Even adding a uniqueness constraint to an already-unique col will change how the code interacts with it, specifically how it deals with concurrency/locking. If they said it has to be an imperative programming language, then it's not that.
If they said the schema isn't source code then ok, but I still think it is.
I assure you that Excel spreadsheets with formulas in them are FOIA-able in Illinois. Since we can take that as axiomatic, I think we can put "schemas are software" to bed.
SQL schemas aren't Excel spreadsheets.
4 replies →
An Excel formula should be considerd a kind of software, because you cab do code golf in it.