Editing 1409: Query
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{{comic | {{comic | ||
| number = 1409 | | number = 1409 | ||
− | | date = August | + | | date = August 17, 2014 |
| title = Query | | title = Query | ||
| image = query.png | | image = query.png | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | [[Megan]] picks up a strange device that mysteriously asks her to enter a query after stating " | + | [[Megan]] picks up a strange device that mysteriously asks her to enter a query after stating "LOADED TABLE: PEOPLE / ENTER QUERY." In computer databases, "{{w|Table (database)|tables}}" are groups of similar information consisting of records each having certain attributes. Databases are generally made up of many tables, each containing different types of records. A database for a traditional library might have a "Books" table and a "Cardholders" table with records of all of the books in the library, and all of the people who have library cards. Each table will have different columns for certain attributes for every record. For example, the "Books" table might have columns for "title", "author", "date", etc. |
A request from a database by a user is called a "query". {{w|SQL}} (Structured Query Language) is a programming language designed for databases, and has a certain syntax for its queries. A common query is "select" which requests certain information from the database. In the library example, one might select (in plain English) all books written by a certain author or published after a certain date, etc. | A request from a database by a user is called a "query". {{w|SQL}} (Structured Query Language) is a programming language designed for databases, and has a certain syntax for its queries. A common query is "select" which requests certain information from the database. In the library example, one might select (in plain English) all books written by a certain author or published after a certain date, etc. | ||
− | Megan | + | In this comic, Megan tests the device by entering an SQL query into it: "SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE AGE > 30" (show all the people older than 30). It appears that the actual people around her who are over 30 are wrapped in a yellow light, which does not apply to Megan in this query. Megan then tries other experimental queries, presumably to determine whether the results are correct. First, she queries for people with a high annual income (a group that does not include her), then for those who are afraid of flying (which does include her). Because the results for herself are valid both times, she then indulges her curiosity by asking who has watched porn in the preceding twelve hours. This suggests that whatever "database" she is accessing is extremely thorough as it contains ongoing records of people's day-to-day activities. |
− | The | + | Finally, she types "DROP TABLE PEOPLE". Drop is an SQL command to delete a table. When she enters the command, everybody, including herself, disappears. The implications are unclear. It may be a suggestion that all of reality is a computer program, all of the people are merely "data" in the program, and Megan was somehow granted access to the database for the program. It could also be an allusion to the fact that human life is so rich, diverse & interesting, but also, extremely fragile. A terrorist or rogue nation, simply with the press of a few buttons, can erase everything that thousands or millions of people had worked so hard on. |
− | + | When everything that everyone carried (cell phones, ice cream cones) drop to the ground, the tablet Megan originally found falls to the same spot it was in the first panel. Perhaps this cycle has repeated itself before, with the mysterious device on the ground, a group of people ambling in, and then someone like Megan picking up the tablet and starting the process all over again. | |
− | + | The title text suggests the possibility that when the people disappeared or "died", their records were moved to a table called "GHOSTS". The query would then, presumably, see all the people that were deleted. In some implementations of SQL, when records are deleted, they are hidden but remain in the database until a "Ghost Cleanup Process" removes the data permanently. The title text may also allude to this process. | |
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− | The title text | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | :[Megan picks up a device.] | |
− | + | :Device: ''LOADED TABLE: PEOPLE'' | |
− | + | :Device: ''ENTER QUERY'' | |
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− | :[Megan picks up a device | ||
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− | : | ||
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− | :[ | + | :[Megan types into the device:] SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE AGE > 30 |
− | :[ | + | :[Five people are highlighted.] |
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− | :[ | + | :[Megan types:] SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE ANNUAL_INCOME > 100 000 |
− | :[ | + | :[One person is highlighted.] |
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− | :[ | + | :[Megan types:] SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE AFRAID_OF_FLYING = TRUE |
− | :[ | + | :[Four people, including herself, are highlighted.] |
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− | :[ | + | :[Megan types:] SELECT * FROM PEOPLE WHERE HOURS_SINCE_WATCHING_PORN < 12 |
− | :[ | + | :[Three people are highlighted.] |
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− | : | + | :Megan: Neat |
:Megan: ... | :Megan: ... | ||
+ | :[Megan types:] DROP TABLE PEOPLE | ||
− | + | :[Everyone disappears; the items they were holding drop to the ground.] | |
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− | :[Everyone disappears; the items they were holding drop to the ground | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | [[Category:Comics | + | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | ||
− | [[Category:Comics featuring | + | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] |
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Comics with color]] |
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