data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

[frankbicknell]

I have a list that has a parent table with a joined child table. I believe I have the primary fields set up properly. The parent table updates OK. The joined child table appears to update when the save button is pressed, however when the synchronize button is pressed the data is not updated and the controls change back to the data before the update. Just like clicking reset. Any pointers?

[Steve Workings]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Frank - need more info. What kind of control is used to display data from each table? And how are the controls linked? I think you're saying you have two List Controls but not sure at all ?

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Here is an interesting discovery. It seems that you can't have a readonly table in between the updateable parent and the updateable joined child. I moved the tables around so that the updateable joined table is the first after the parent and now the update works.

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Steve,
I am using one list control with a detail view.

The table structure for the setup that did not work was.
parent table - updateable
joined child one - read only
joined child two - read only
joined child three - read only
joined child four - updateable

when I set the 'debugger info' property in the detail view section I could see that when I made a change to the data in the parent table it show that there was an update pending. When I made a change to the data in the updateable joined table I could see that the debug information indicated that there is 'no work to be done' for the joined table.

When I changed to order of the joined tables to this;
parent table - updateable
joined child four - updateable
joined child one - read only
joined child two - read only
joined child three - read only

When I made a change to the data in the updateable joined table I could see that the debug information indicated that there pending update for the joined table.

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Back to this again. Does anyone know why the synchronization process breaks? Does anyone know how to troubleshoot the synchronization process? Am I the only one that is having a problem with the lists? The only way I am able to get it to work again is completely rebuild the list. It works for a while then after a change in the UX (i don't no what is causing it) it breaks again.

[rvanderbes]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Frank, I'm having a lot of similar challenges with the new list control. It does seem to be very fragile, and frequently revised with each pre-release build. You're not alone.

Whenever I run into problems with it, I try to duplicate the issue in a test scenario, using the demo control from the AA hierarchical list tutorial: http://downloads.alphasoftware.com/A...DetailView.htm

Sometimes I learn about how the list control works, sometimes I find a bug (more often). As soon as I duplicate it in a test control, I send it off as a bug. I'm not exactly pleased to have to be a beta tester, but on the plus side, when you send them a reproducible bug, AA fixes it immediately.

I've noticed they don't religiously update the pre-release notes with many of the bug fixes they put in, so you may not realize what's changing.

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Thanks for the confirmation and tips Robert. I know some of what is going on are bugs, however, I do not have the time to build test cases. I know if I submit a bug to alpha that they are going to want a test case and I won't be able to provide. I guess I am hoping someone has figured out a work-around for some of the issues. Anyhow I hope all of these problems get worked out (soon) because this is an extremely powerful and useful tool for my business.

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Well after many days of frustration I finally have a disconnected application that works. I have 10 lists that are all linked to 1 parent. 6 of them have detail views. They all save and they all synchronize. So it can be done but it is not for the faint of heart. This application is very fragile so I can't customize it too much more until they make it more stable. Thanks for all the help.

[christappan]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Frank, glad to hear this. Any tips for others on how to prevent fragility? I've built a 2-list UX, each with detail views, but nothing in comparison to yours. That said, it wasn't any walk in the park just because every inch of the List control is new to me, but I don't think I hit any bugs... I count myself fortunate after reading this but wonder if you have any pointers on keeping it that way.

[kiwibruce]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

I know some of what is going on are bugs, however, I do not have the time to build test cases. I know if I submit a bug to alpha that they are going to want a test case and I won't be able to provide.

I Hear ya Frank ! This is exactly out situation, Mike who works with me is running into a heap of issues with Lists but if he built a test case for everyone it would be a full time job! and alas Alpha does not pay his wages :)

[frankbicknell]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Chris, I had to do without using table joins in the app. That seemed to cause all kinds of problem. I am using a couple of updateable views and I had to flatten a couple of tables that needed inserts.
The most frustrating part was when the synchronize process just stopped. It appeared that everything was working all of the fields where updated and it showed that there were pending updates when using debugging but nothing happened when pressing synchronize. I had to completely rebuild the list that would not synchronize when that occurred. I am now a list builder genie expert.
The layout caused some problems and I was not able to pinpoint the cause. What I did was painstakingly modify the app then rerun and test all of the features. If a problem occurred I would restore a backup then try again. Sometimes I did not test all of the features and would find out that after several modifications something else broke. I wish I could have documented it better. What is odd is that I have been able to get almost all of the features I wanted to work so maybe it is the order in which you make the mods.
I know that using containers as windows created some problems. Like displaying a map. Or using a container window for a signature. The tab control added some challenges as well. I could not use tabs and freeform layout containers which means my forms are not as 'pretty' as I would like.
I have tested it remotely and it seems to be working so I don't think that it will break if I don't make any more modifications (i have instructed everyone to not breath while they are using it). I would like to add some control so that if there is no internet connection We get notified but I want to wait until things are more stable.

The other thing to keep in mind and what makes perfect sense to me now is that everything is happening on the client machine (javascript). There aren't callbacks like there are in a connected app. Understanding that helped clear up quite a few issues for me.

Another strange thing that happened was when using the sql builder in the list control if I entered and expression like '(price * qty) as amount' manually in the edit box I could not save and got an error, however, if I entered it with the expression builder it worked OK.
2014-11-08_11-44-42.jpg

Another thing that I can think of is do not change the id or variable names after the list has been created that breaks everything.
You can't put a child list in a tab control. It generated and error about refreshing the parent list. Works OK in a panel card.

[Davidk]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Frank, I'm having a lot of similar challenges with the new list control. It does seem to be very fragile, and frequently revised with each pre-release build. You're not alone.

Whenever I run into problems with it, I try to duplicate the issue in a test scenario, using the demo control from the AA hierarchical list tutorial: http://downloads.alphasoftware.com/A...DetailView.htm

Sometimes I learn about how the list control works, sometimes I find a bug (more often). As soon as I duplicate it in a test control, I send it off as a bug. I'm not exactly pleased to have to be a beta tester, but on the plus side, when you send them a reproducible bug, AA fixes it immediately.

I've noticed they don't religiously update the pre-release notes with many of the bug fixes they put in, so you may not realize what's changing.

Hey Robert, while I understand what you're saying, remember that you are working with a pre-release build. I'd rather work with a pre-release build which includes all the new cool stuff than wait. Issues with pre-releases are looked after right away... and many times suggestions made by us are incorporated as well.

[christappan]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Thanks Frank. Again, my UX sounds much more simple than yours but it's still good to know. And to reiterate, I didn't see anything I could identify as bugs, but it definitely was a learning process. I knew when I started that everything had to be client-side but it really challenged my tendencies to rely on session variables and ajax callbacks.

[lilmofo812]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

This has to be the most annoying error message ever (I was getting this message on lists that didn't have detail views so I have no idea what is causing it but now trying to use detail views I can at least where it is happening).

Screen Shot 2014-12-10 at 8.54.54 AM.png

It looks like this issue is tied to the fact that I have joined tables that all have primary keys called "ID". When I do my joins I relabel these fields to something easier to recognize in the list using the alias of the filed but it seems because the table has the name ID it wants the field in the list to say ID as well which we all know is impossible with mySQL (and I'd assume any other database). So short of having to go through all my tables to rename the primary fields and then go through my entire application (were talking at least 100+ components) and redoing the data table bindings, is there an easier way to fix this issue? It seems like the list field shouldn't have to match the table field by name as long as the field is the correct field. Thanks for the feedback!

[PaulAmmoun]

Re: data not synchronizing for joined table in list control

Hi,
I remember I had a similar message couple of weeks ago. as a quick fix add a detail view to the list and or either delete all the textboxes created or move them to a hidden panel (This is what I did).
So I have a list with detail view (not needed) and the linked field on a hidden panel.

Hope it helps.