table calculations

[Richard Gaskin]

Graham wrote:

> Jan, it's crystal clear to me that you understand what **is** on offer in
> RunRev tables about 100 times more clearly than I do. I realise that
> autoformatting of cells is offered in some form, but I can't work out the
> consequences of errors (how does my script know the user has put in a
> random text instead of a date, for example?). And in what sense are tables
> hooked up to queries - indeed, what is a query in this context?
> 
> What beats me is how you reached your level of understanding from the
> existing documentation. I feel dumb. I will go back to experimentation, but
> it seems long and slow to me.
> 
> Just tell me there is a great little essay on how tables work, and I've
> missed it. I'd be really happy.

At the heart of this may be that the definition of "table" varies from
person to person.  For some it means a database list view, while for others
it may mean a spreadsheet.

Unfortunately, all the two have in common is that grid lines appear in each
-- behaviorally they are very different:

-  Databases select by row, spreadsheets select by cell.

- Databases normally only edit in a detail view, while spreadsheets edit in
place.  

- Database heading names are commonly field names, while spreadsheet
headings are commonly generic (most using alphabetic characters).

- Databases usually have one size for all rows, while most spreadsheets
allow each row to be sized independently.

- Databases follow a rigid row-and-column format, while spreadsheets are
very free-form, allowing data in any arbitrary cell.

Rev's implementation seems geared toward database usage, with the extra
bonus of allowing in-cell editing.  So while there's probably some
opportunity for Jeanne to expand the docs on this new feature as she catches
up on the rest of this very large IDE (she's still ahead of both the teams
at Adobe and Macromedia for overall completeness, IMNSHO), it seems part of
the confusion about using tables seems related to expectations of which type
of table they are.

-- 
 Richard Gaskin 
 Fourth World Media Corporation
 Developer of WebMerge 2.2: Publish any database on any site
 ___________________________________________________________
 Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com
 Tel: 323-225-3717                       AIM: FourthWorldInc