The joke system that closes the technical part of the lecture — introduced as the one system the lecturer wishes he had invented (1:15:43).

What it is

  • A relational database that runs in your browser and stores its data in the titles of your browser tabs (1:15:43).
  • Under the hood it is SQLite compiled to WebAssembly (Emscripten); the tab titles are the storage layer (1:16:05, 1:16:34).

What the demo showed

  • Open a batch of tabs, run CREATE TABLE — the schema/data appears in the tab titles (1:16:05).
  • INSERT updates the tab titles; SELECT reads them back and returns results (1:16:05, 1:16:34).
  • Row size limit ≈ 100 characters, the maximum tab title length; longer values spill into more tabs (1:16:34, 1:16:54).
  • Repeatedly running UPDATE people SET name = name || name grows values until they visibly truncate, at which point correctness is no longer verifiable from the titles (1:17:20, 1:17:54).
  • Aside: he tried to bring the author to CMU and stage it as a distinguished lecture, mayor's office invited (1:18:34).