It slices It dices

It slices! It dices!

An address book organizes information alphabetically. A cookbook organizes information by ingredient or by course. Television listings organize information by time and channel. To-do lists organize information by task and time. Each lets you find what you need precisely because of how the information is organized. A computer database is not so different except for one major advantage: it can quickly organize the same information in multiple ways.

In some ways, a database is like that late-night TV perennial, the Veg-o-Matic: It slices! It dices! It's ten kitchen tools in one! A database can slice the same basic information any number of ways: as address book entries, as mailing labels, as billing invoiceswhatever's needed.