> it is interesting that the core table in Saleforce is literally a collection of triples
This is... not entirely true. Most of the data for each "Object" in salesforce are stored in a series of columns on a single table. These are called "flex columns" in the official whitepaper describing the architecture. [0]
However, _foreign key relationships_ are indeed stored in a table that acts like a collection of triples. This is used in place of native foreign keys, and is indeed deeply integrated with the optimizer.
This is... not entirely true. Most of the data for each "Object" in salesforce are stored in a series of columns on a single table. These are called "flex columns" in the official whitepaper describing the architecture. [0]
However, _foreign key relationships_ are indeed stored in a table that acts like a collection of triples. This is used in place of native foreign keys, and is indeed deeply integrated with the optimizer.
[0]: https://www.developerforce.com/media/ForcedotcomBookLibrary/...