Array Coolness

[Bob Sneidar]

Hi Len.

It would be easier to hard code a query if I was coding for a specific  
application that only did one thing, but I am making generic functions  
to query the database based upon fields that I have dropped into a  
form using a Field Dropper utility I made. The idea is to be able to  
query a database table for it's structure, allow the user to pick a  
field and what kind of field he wants it to be, select some options  
(like List Visible for example) and then "drop" that field into the  
form with a set of custom properties that will determine how the field  
behaves on the form and in lists. The fields have the same name as the  
table columns with an "f" prepended to them, so if I know the field  
name I know the column name.

The functions to do all this are generic so that they can work with  
any form built from columns in any database. I am building more than a  
specific application to do a specific thing, I am building a framework  
of functions and utilities that will work much like Filemaker when I  
am done, so I avoid any application specific coding. My functions  
don't know (and don't care) what the actual columns are. Their  
visibility in any list is determined by whether or not the column has  
a corresponding field in the form, and if it does, whether or not the  
ListVisible property is true. I set this property in the Field Dropper  
utility.

Some fields are ALWAYS invisible (such as the deleted flag, the unique  
id, and the signature lock). But they have to be part of the data  
returned from the query so I can check those values against any new  
values before I write anything back to the tables. It's just sooooo  
much simpler to script a query on the fly using "SELECT * FROM" and  
then rearrange the columns for the list view as needed.

Bob Sneidar
IT Manager
Logos Management
Calvary Chapel CM

On Mar 3, 2009, at 1:51 PM, len-morgan at crcom.net wrote:

> Wouldn't be MUCH easier to just ask for the data you want in the  
> order you
> want in your query and not have to worry about diddling with  
> arrays?  For
> example:
>
> SELECT f1, f2, f3, ... fx FROM myTable -- Gives you the same as  
> SELECT *
>
> SELECT fx, fy, f3, f1, f2 FROM myTable -- Gives you back the fields  
> in the
> specified order
>
> Just my two cents' worth
>
> len morgan
>
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