Re: A nongeneric bounded string array type (in database code)

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

Warren W. Gay VE3WWG wrote:

> Well, the null handling definitely is lacking. No type strength,
> and all numerics must be marshalled into and out of strings, with
> of course, no type checking either. Ad-hoc queries must adopt the
> strangest of null conventions; certainly non-standard ones! 

Of course, I don't use strings for numeric data, and when I use 
non-standard characters to represent a null text field they are the only 
string there (with the curious exception of MIO).

I think you have a different vision of what I am doing than what is 
actually going on.  I don't have a record type in the database, but rows 
  which can be indexed or selected based on using one field as an index. 
  (More usually, one field for selection, and others for primary and 
secondary sort indexes.)  Then, in our example, I would be pulling out 
last name, first name, middle name, street address, town, state, zip, 
phone-number, or whatever.

I find it much easier to build a web-page with a "few" records displayed 
left to right instead of top to bottom.  The nice thing is that instead 
of choosing some arbitrary spacing for columns, I can make each column 
as large (or small) as it needs to be.

All this gets real complicated to explain and very easy to write.
--


                                         Robert I. Eachus

"Quality is the Buddha. Quality is scientific reality. Quality is the 
goal of Art. It remains to work these concepts into a practical, 
down-to-earth context, and for this there is nothing more practical or 
down-to-earth than what I have been talking about all along...the repair 
of an old motorcycle."  -- from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 
Maintenance by Robert Pirsig