<p>I would like to hear opinions or peoples experiences regarding <a href="http://dbappbuilder.sourceforge.net/Rel.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rel</a>.  Is it destined for the dustbin, or is it the next big thing in programming?  I haven't tried doing anything with it yet (and it looks like you really can't at this point), but I'm intrigued by a few of the concepts discussed in it.  Notably:</p>

<ol>
<li>Removal of nulls completely from the data handling part of the language.</li>
<li>No need for mapping types between the language and the data storage.</li>
<li>Nesting tables</li>
<li>Complete separation of design and implementation.</li>
</ol>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

I think it is intended as an aid to
teaching
the pure relational model, not as a competitor to SQL DBMSs for "real work" in the short or medium term.  However, Date and Darwen make a compelling case for the proper implementation of the relational model in their book
The Third Manifesto
.  Maybe one day someone will produce a successful product based on it.  After all, Oracle was a very small, niche company once!