Getting started with Rev Databases

[Richard Gaskin]

Mark Wieder wrote:
> FDEJ> I think the revdb_ things are leftovers from an older version of the
> 
> That's my understanding as well. Backwards compatibility.

It's not an abbreviation.  Are the underscored ones depricated?  Did I 
miss the note about deprication in their docs?

> FDEJ> A "cursor" in the sense used by the revCloseCursor command refers to a
> FDEJ> pointer of sorts, but it is not the mouse pointer.  When you query a
> 
> The term "cursor" is a traditional term in database usage to mean "a
> pointer to the current record". I suppose I can see how this might be
> confusing if someone didn't read the documentation. <g>

Precisely.

I started on this exercise because I need to write and API and 
documentation for a database engine I've been working on (it's too 
specialized to warrant going into here), and that led me to wondering 
"How do newcomers to Rev learn about databases?"

With the "revDatabase" prefix used inconsistently it's possible to 
overlook relevant commands, since, as you noted, you can't just skim the 
command list but must instead read each entry.


As for CURSOR itself, while it's commonly used for "CURrent Selection Of 
Records" it predates GUIs and has been in conflict with more general 
usage to refer to the pointer ever since.

On second thought, it was a poor choice back then because AFAIK Cursor 
has always been used to describe the flashing insertion point in a text 
display.

So as long as I'm defining my own API I have the opportunity to correct 
such accidents of history, so while I'm mirroring much of revDB I'm 
changing Cursor to CurSel. :)

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Media Corporation
  __________________________________________________
  Rev tools and more: http://www.fourthworld.com/rev