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April 25, 2003

Dr. Edgar F. Codd (1923-2003):
An Appreciation

by C. J. Date

Photo Courtesy IBM Corp.

[Editor's Note: Chris Date wrote the following brief note and summation about Dr. Codd upon the news of his passing on April 18. He will be contributing a more detailed discussion, which Intelligent Enterprise will provide at a later date, along with other commentary. We at Intelligent Enterprise offer our condolences to his family—and our tribute to a singular and seminal figure in the development of the relational model, relational databases, and all that has grown so successfully from that foundation.]

Ted Codd was a genuine computing pioneer. He was also an inspiration to all of us who had the fortune to know him and work with him. He began his career in 1949 as a programming mathematician for IBM on the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator. He subsequently participated in the development of several important IBM products, including its first commercial electronic computer (IBM 701) and the STRETCH machine, which led to IBM's 7090 mainframe technology. Then, in the 1960's, he turned his attention to the problem of managing large commercial databases — and over the next few years he created, single handed, the invention with which his name will forever be associated: the relational model of data.

The relational model is widely recognized as one of the great technical innovations of the 20th century. Codd described it and explored its implications in a series of research papers — staggering in their originality--which he published throughout the period 1969-1979. The effect of those papers was twofold: They changed for good the way the IT world (including the academic component f that world in particular) perceived the database management problem; and they laid the foundation for an entire new industry, the relational database industry, now worth many billions of dollars a year. In fact, not only did Codd's relational model set the entire discipline of database management on a solid scientific footing, it also formed the basis for a technology that has had, and continues to have, a major impact on the very fabric of our society. It is no exaggeration to say that Ted Codd is the intellectual father of the modern database field.

Codd's supreme achievement with the relational model should not be allowed to eclipse the fact that he made major original contributions in several other important areas as well, including multiprogramming, natural language processing, and more recently Enterprise Delta (a relational approach to business rules management), for which he and his wife were granted a US patent. The depth and breadth of his contributions were recognized by the long list of honors and elected positions that were conferred on him during his lifetime, including IBM Fellow; elected ACM Fellow; elected Fellow of the Britain Computer Society; elected member of the National Academy of Engineering; and elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1981 he received the ACM Turing Award, the most prestigious award in the field of computer science. He also received an outstanding recognition award from IEEE; the very first annual Achievement Award from the international DB2 Users Group: and another annual achievement award from DAMA in 2001. Computerworld, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of its publication, selected him as one of 25 individuals in or related to the field of computing who have had the most effect on our society. And Forbes magazine, which in December 2002 published a list of the most important innovations and contributions for each of the 85 years of its existence, selected for the year 1970 the relational model of data, by E. F. Codd.

Ted Codd was a native of England and a Royal Air Force veteran of World War II. He moved to the United States in 1946 and became a naturalized US citizen. He held MA degrees in mathematics and chemistry from Oxford University and MS and PhD degrees in communication sciences from the University of Michigan. He is survived by his wife Sharon and her parents, Sol and Nora Boroff, of Williams Island, Florida; a brother David Codd and his wife, Barbara and a sister, Katherine Codd, all of England; and a second sister, Lucy Pickard, of Hamilton, Ontario. He also leaves four children and their families; Katherine Codd Clark, her husband Lawrence, and their daughters, Shannon and Allison, of Palo Alto, California; Ronald E. F. Codd, his wife Susie, and their son, Ryan and daughter, Alexis, of Alamo, California; Frank Codd and his wife, Aydes of Castro Valley, CA; and David Codd, his wife Ileana, and their daughter Melissa and son, Andrew, of Boca Raton, Florida. He also leaves nieces and nephews in England, Canada, and Australia, as well as many, many friends and colleagues worldwide. He is mourned and greatly missed by all.

Please post your thoughts on E.F. Codd's legacy on our Discussion Board