Several major investment banks are using NoSQL dbs for multi-billion dollar businesses, and for the exactly opposite reasons to those you describe: high-volume, low-profit/transaction stuff goes to classic SQL dbs; the high-profit stuff runs on the the NoSQL platforms.
Why? Almost all transactions will be examined by 2+ people, so lookup by name is more important than select statements. Consistency is hard to define, so writing complex rules is counter-productive. Ad-hoc queries are common, and are often not expressible in SQL.
NoSQL and ACID are pretty orthogonal concepts. ACID is actually a mix of common-sense ideas and some subtle handwaving:
Atomicity and Isolation are solid ideas and actually doable. Consistency is ill-defined, sneakily introduces semantics and computability, then declares it's all ok via marketing brochures. Durability is flat out impossible. Gutsy to even use the term after nukes were invented.
Most people just don't understand why Wall St pays bonuses. Even at the lowest level (secretary, bonus=2 months pay,) or median (as you say, 5-6 months pay,) the deal is simple and brutal: we don't have time to manage you, so just get your work done; do it, and you get paid above-market; slack off, and you will starve.
One way around that would be to hold the bonuses in escrow for two years, to be release only on the condition that the company performs at least satisfactorily during that time. The money could be invested in two twelve-month certificates or funds and repossessed at the end of either one.
Which is exactly what most Wall St firms do: you get paid in company stock, and that stock slowly vests to you over a multi-year period. Firm does well, and you do well, and vice versa. You quit, and you lose the unvested stock.
I have an EE degree. What's a good 2nd degree? CMP ENG or Comp Sci? I want to be eligible to apply for more jobs.
You are eligible to apply for all jobs now. The trick is actually getting one.
Second degrees are a net loss in the market. One degree means you are of at least average intelligence and can show up on time when it counts. Two degrees means pretty much the same thing.
1. Very hard to do. The favor will take years to impact the sender, and a tough to do when your planet goes from getting 1kw/m^2 to, say, 2-3kw/m^2. 2. Much less than you would expect. An array even a few thousand km wide can put most of its output onto a planet several lightyears way.
Or, they just set up a big sun-powered phased array in their home system and bathe us in laser light for a year or two. Their generational ships eventually arrive to find a nice planet conveniently pre-sterilized.
We get to see it coming, not much we can do about it, though.
Now, in addition to lawyers and accountants, you need computer programmers to invest. This smells like a racket. On the other hand, it can't get any worse than the legalese, and maybe that is the point.
When banks sell a product, structure, portfolio, etc, to each other, they are already converting the legalese into code or at least data for pre-existing code: it's the only way you can come up with an estimate of the value of the asset in question.
The python idea is great. Of course, I'm saying that because I've already got a python representation of hundreds of financial contracts:)
1. I have jobs available that require such knowledge. Open source contributions, good grasp of functional programming, graph algorithms, etc are a plus. Being interested in big systems also a plus. 2. Because you didn't send me your CV yet. mmn@bellatlantic.net
Oops, meant to say "bug free binary SEARCH." Though a good hire should be able to knock off a conceptually correct quicksort or heapsort in 20 minutes or so.
Weird, I've got 10+ headcount open for hard-core CS guys. I'm lucky to see one candidate/month who is even in the ballpark. 95% fail when asked the basics, e.g:
1. What is a hash table, why would I use one, what's the expected cost to insert/find/delete, how might you implement it? 2. Write a bug-free binary sort in the language of your choice. 3. Here's real-world problem XXX, sketch out a solution and describe the algorithms+data structures involved.
Had to tell HR to stop filtering resumes: they are set up to look for specific skills, not talent. Also had to explain to them they are not in the compensation package deciding business: we do that, HR gets the process working smoothly. It's no wonder that if HR talks to college placement folks, pretty soon the college profs start feeling the pressure to teach the wrong stuff.
It's good that it's pitch black, because you'd take 1d6 if you could see the concept art.
Seriously horrible. Buy a new artist.
E.g. misshapen warrior hero walks along stone stairway with badly framed rocks leaning left. Warrior looks to right at nothing at all. Random hands seem to be sticking out of the earth to the bottom right, but warrior isn't going there anyhow, so who cares. Sheesh, my 4 year old can do a picture better.
Pic two: warrior with stubby sword leans backward and tries to stab a MST3K guy in a dress. Awesome way to capture the dynamism of an avocado rotting in the hot sun. Just fucking kill me now.
Wouldn't this mean that depending on your social, financial, or business stature, all lie detections systems will not work properly?
Yes, but given all lie detection systems do not work*, your question is a bit of a no-op.
* Well, the systems that consist of collecting compelling physical evidence and comparing that to what a suspect is claiming often work, but I assume you are talking about machines with buttons and wires and dials and needle-plotters and stuff.
I'm kind of old school, so I only have 3 monitors + a notepad, maybe get 1 piece of paper a week (a confirm for travel or whatever.) More modern guys on the floor have 6, 7, or 8 21" flatscreens, zero paper.
So then there comes this question - why didn't they check if the check bounced before they wired back the excess?
Because retail banking is based on medieval rules. A check can bounce weeks after the fact: it's just a promise that X will pay $Y, not a real financial instrument that generically pays $Y.
The US has banking laws that require banks to make deposited funds available to you after N days, but that is NOT the same as you actually having completed the underlying transaction: unwinds happen, the money is removed from your account, and you are back at square one, possibly with a fee to boot.
I mean, if I worked at a financial org, and they asked me to write some wierd code that created dummy trade records, I may think 'eh?' and ask whether it was correct or not, but they'd then tell me its all legal, above board and just another one of those stupid regulatory rules that seem to make no sense to mere programmers... and I'd shrug, say "well, ok then" and do it.
That's exactly why big financial institutions make their programmers spend 1hr+/week going through on-line training courses with dull topics like chinese walls, information leakage, money-laundering, ethics, non-public information, etc. The topic hardly matters, the point that is trying to be explained is "if it seems wrong, don't do it. Escalate to your management or the compliance department." A good firm takes this stuff seriously: I've seen several examples of a junior associate reporting pressure to do something questionable, three levels of managers and lawyers zoom in, 24 hours later, it is announced that a senior person has left the firm.
Programmers often claim to be professional workers rather than technicians. This is pretty much a case study: do you walk because you are being asked to behave unethically, or do you rationalize the problem and accept the $200K/year (or whatever?)
Last week I was meeting with our business head, and he asked me if and why my team was able to execute a pretty complex plan. I said yes, of course, and the only reason I gave was that everyone on the team was honest: they would each work hard, and would update us rapidly on their real progress and problems. Got it sold in under a minute, no PERT charts needed. Just professionals planning to get a job done - if even one person on the team might behave like the programmers involved in Madoff's operation, I wouldn't have been able to promise anything.
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Hard for you to compare, maybe. But, yes, real transactions, mostly bespoke.
Several major investment banks are using NoSQL dbs for multi-billion dollar businesses, and for the exactly opposite reasons to those you describe: high-volume, low-profit/transaction stuff goes to classic SQL dbs; the high-profit stuff runs on the the NoSQL platforms.
Why? Almost all transactions will be examined by 2+ people, so lookup by name is more important than select statements. Consistency is hard to define, so writing complex rules is counter-productive. Ad-hoc queries are common, and are often not expressible in SQL.
NoSQL and ACID are pretty orthogonal concepts. ACID is actually a mix of common-sense ideas and some subtle handwaving:
Atomicity and Isolation are solid ideas and actually doable.
Consistency is ill-defined, sneakily introduces semantics and computability, then declares it's all ok via marketing brochures.
Durability is flat out impossible. Gutsy to even use the term after nukes were invented.
We do number-crunching. We like the 1U Teslas - nice Nvidia GPU, no annoying video circuitry.
At the junior levels, yes, cash. It changes as you move up.
Most people just don't understand why Wall St pays bonuses. Even at the lowest level (secretary, bonus=2 months pay,) or median (as you say, 5-6 months pay,) the deal is simple and brutal: we don't have time to manage you, so just get your work done; do it, and you get paid above-market; slack off, and you will starve.
Which is exactly what most Wall St firms do: you get paid in company stock, and that stock slowly vests to you over a multi-year period. Firm does well, and you do well, and vice versa. You quit, and you lose the unvested stock.
I have an EE degree. What's a good 2nd degree? CMP ENG or Comp Sci? I want to be eligible to apply for more jobs.
You are eligible to apply for all jobs now. The trick is actually getting one.
Second degrees are a net loss in the market. One degree means you are of at least average intelligence and can show up on time when it counts. Two degrees means pretty much the same thing.
1. Very hard to do. The favor will take years to impact the sender, and a tough to do when your planet goes from getting 1kw/m^2 to, say, 2-3kw/m^2.
2. Much less than you would expect. An array even a few thousand km wide can put most of its output onto a planet several lightyears way.
Or, they just set up a big sun-powered phased array in their home system and bathe us in laser light for a year or two. Their generational ships eventually arrive to find a nice planet conveniently pre-sterilized.
We get to see it coming, not much we can do about it, though.
Now, in addition to lawyers and accountants, you need computer programmers to invest. This smells like a racket. On the other hand, it can't get any worse than the legalese, and maybe that is the point.
When banks sell a product, structure, portfolio, etc, to each other, they are already converting the legalese into code or at least data for pre-existing code: it's the only way you can come up with an estimate of the value of the asset in question.
The python idea is great. Of course, I'm saying that because I've already got a python representation of hundreds of financial contracts :)
1. I have jobs available that require such knowledge. Open source contributions, good grasp of functional programming, graph algorithms, etc are a plus. Being interested in big systems also a plus.
2. Because you didn't send me your CV yet. mmn@bellatlantic.net
Sure, sorting N identical values is O(1), but that's not really what CS guys are talking about when they are talking "sorting."
Well, sure there are algorithms with O(n) complexity, but do they sort things?
I mentioned single CPU - what is an example of a more efficient algorithm?
np, you are right - I meant to type "binary search" and added a follow-on post asap.
I'll lick my wounds now and claim "binary sort" is any sort that runs in NlogN expected time on one CPU (bonus for worst case runtime in bounds.)
Oops, meant to say "bug free binary SEARCH." Though a good hire should be able to knock off a conceptually correct quicksort or heapsort in 20 minutes or so.
Weird, I've got 10+ headcount open for hard-core CS guys. I'm lucky to see one candidate/month who is even in the ballpark. 95% fail when asked the basics, e.g:
1. What is a hash table, why would I use one, what's the expected cost to insert/find/delete, how might you implement it?
2. Write a bug-free binary sort in the language of your choice.
3. Here's real-world problem XXX, sketch out a solution and describe the algorithms+data structures involved.
Had to tell HR to stop filtering resumes: they are set up to look for specific skills, not talent. Also had to explain to them they are not in the compensation package deciding business: we do that, HR gets the process working smoothly. It's no wonder that if HR talks to college placement folks, pretty soon the college profs start feeling the pressure to teach the wrong stuff.
It's good that it's pitch black, because you'd take 1d6 if you could see the concept art.
Seriously horrible. Buy a new artist.
E.g. misshapen warrior hero walks along stone stairway with badly framed rocks leaning left. Warrior looks to right at nothing at all. Random hands seem to be sticking out of the earth to the bottom right, but warrior isn't going there anyhow, so who cares. Sheesh, my 4 year old can do a picture better.
Pic two: warrior with stubby sword leans backward and tries to stab a MST3K guy in a dress. Awesome way to capture the dynamism of an avocado rotting in the hot sun. Just fucking kill me now.
I compute derivatives every day. That's why my compute farm draws a couple of megawatts when I want a number.
Glad to hear people are still doing it by hand. Arts and crafts should been encouraged, even in the modern age.
Don't worry: none of that stuff works. End of story.
Just smile, say nothing, get a lawyer.
Yes, but given all lie detection systems do not work*, your question is a bit of a no-op.
* Well, the systems that consist of collecting compelling physical evidence and comparing that to what a suspect is claiming often work, but I assume you are talking about machines with buttons and wires and dials and needle-plotters and stuff.
Yep.
I'm kind of old school, so I only have 3 monitors + a notepad, maybe get 1 piece of paper a week (a confirm for travel or whatever.) More modern guys on the floor have 6, 7, or 8 21" flatscreens, zero paper.
Because retail banking is based on medieval rules. A check can bounce weeks after the fact: it's just a promise that X will pay $Y, not a real financial instrument that generically pays $Y.
The US has banking laws that require banks to make deposited funds available to you after N days, but that is NOT the same as you actually having completed the underlying transaction: unwinds happen, the money is removed from your account, and you are back at square one, possibly with a fee to boot.
That's exactly why big financial institutions make their programmers spend 1hr+/week going through on-line training courses with dull topics like chinese walls, information leakage, money-laundering, ethics, non-public information, etc. The topic hardly matters, the point that is trying to be explained is "if it seems wrong, don't do it. Escalate to your management or the compliance department." A good firm takes this stuff seriously: I've seen several examples of a junior associate reporting pressure to do something questionable, three levels of managers and lawyers zoom in, 24 hours later, it is announced that a senior person has left the firm.
Programmers often claim to be professional workers rather than technicians. This is pretty much a case study: do you walk because you are being asked to behave unethically, or do you rationalize the problem and accept the $200K/year (or whatever?)
Last week I was meeting with our business head, and he asked me if and why my team was able to execute a pretty complex plan. I said yes, of course, and the only reason I gave was that everyone on the team was honest: they would each work hard, and would update us rapidly on their real progress and problems. Got it sold in under a minute, no PERT charts needed. Just professionals planning to get a job done - if even one person on the team might behave like the programmers involved in Madoff's operation, I wouldn't have been able to promise anything.