{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/305","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/305/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/305/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/305/events","html_url":"https://github.com/maxogden/dat/issues/305","id":70050835,"number":305,"title":"What the hell is dat?","user":{"login":"balupton","id":61148,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/61148?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton","html_url":"https://github.com/balupton","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/balupton/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[],"state":"open","locked":false,"assignee":null,"milestone":null,"comments":12,"created_at":"2015-04-22T07:48:56Z","updated_at":"2015-06-18T21:15:56Z","closed_at":null,"body":"I've been reading the various links and I can't find anything on what the hell is dat? Only things of some high level features mentioned on the dat homepage and then instructions on how to use it.\r\n\r\nIs there a talk or something on it?"},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/comments/113292035","html_url":"https://github.com/maxogden/dat/issues/305#issuecomment-113292035","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/maxogden/dat/issues/305","id":113292035,"user":{"login":"joyrexus","id":435318,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/435318?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus","html_url":"https://github.com/joyrexus","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/joyrexus/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2015-06-18T21:15:56Z","updated_at":"2015-06-18T21:15:56Z","body":"@karissa thanks for the whitepaper.  I found it helpful.\r\n\r\nI'd like to offer some general feedback:  You close the first section with ...\r\n\r\n> We introduce Dat, a version-controlled distributed database and data tool that has the user interface of a version control system (VCS). \r\n\r\n... and follow with a nice summary of key features.  You then compare/contrast w/ Kafka.  As a result, the reader has an initial mental model of a distributed database and/or messaging system, both of which may be somewhat misleading.\r\n\r\nFWIW, I'd suggest that a somewhat better mental model to put right up front might be a CSV file / spreadsheet table ... with row-level versioning. Whenever I try to explain dat I always *start* with that, because everyone's familiar with a table of data in Excel and can grok the idea of the table's row-by-row change history.  Once that sinks in, I mention that the various versions of the table are streamable:  so, table of data ... that's versioned ... and streamable.\r\n\r\nAnyway ... you do a nice job of explaining dat, but I think putting the idea of **a tabular-sheet-of-data-with-change-history** front-and-center might be useful to newcomers looking for a simple, concrete mental model.  Everything else (blob storage, the REST interface, etc.) can hang off that."}}