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Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

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    #31
    RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

    Steven

    Good advice again.

    Gary

    Are you sold yet?
    Al Buchholz
    Bookwood Systems, LTD
    Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

    Occam's Razor - KISS
    Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
    Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
    When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
    "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
    Albert Einstein

    http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

    Comment


      #32
      RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

      I am a total convert!! Thanks again you guys. I will be working on this right away (though I may have a few more questions :-) Hope that's okay)

      Thanks again.

      Gary
      Gary S. Traub, Ph.D.

      Comment


        #33
        RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

        I'm not convinced! Why should Linking fields be numeric? I see no difference in A12345 and 123456. Except that using A12345 will have more numbers in less space than 123456. The largest number in 123456 is 999,999(if it is set at 6 and no decimal) and the largest number in A12345 is Z99999(approximately 2,600,000 numbers if you start with A00000) and it will sort correctly.

        Comment


          #34
          RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

          Well.... this thread is 33 posts long, (now 34) what's a few more? Well, I know you'll start a new post with a new question but I think you get the drift. There ae many of us who are learning from this, so....thanks for starting this thread and.....Please do, start another!

          kenn
          TYVM :) kenn

          Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

          Comment


            #35
            RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

            Allen Klimick
            I'm not convinced! Why should Linking fields be numeric? I see no difference in A12345 and 123456. Except that using A12345 will have more numbers in less space than 123456. The largest number in 123456 is 999,999(if it is set at 6 and no decimal) and the largest number in A12345 is Z99999(approximately 2,600,000 numbers if you start with A00000) and it will sort correctly.

            Steven
            I have a good friend named Klimick from Israel times :-)
            Now back in the USA

            Good question Allen

            If you *just* want the most characters for the buck, then make the key all Alphabetic, but you may find that your folks have a little more difficulty keying in and remembering and working with CZUGF rather than 027423..

            There is probably some IBM paper from the 1980's on Human Interface Design and Brainial Synaptic Response that explains it all, but you can get the intuitive feel :-)

            (think of all the times you go "C as in Cat, Z as in Zebra, when you deal with alphas :-) .. also remember folks who can do the numeric keyboard, one hand, eyes closed in their sleep.. (not to mention the extra programming when the A's run out :-)

            Stick with numbers.. the Alphasports example of sticking a V or a C,etc in the key is the worst of both worlds, giving an extra character and no extra available numbers :-) although admittedly it is only a minor nuisance, but it sets a mediocre example, imho...


            Comment


              #36
              RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

              Allen

              You are looking at the display size of the data rather than how the data is stored. Numerics are stored in much less space than they are displayed as.

              If you need to prove it, build two large tables with a single numeric field of 10 and another with a character field of 10. Then index both fields.

              Then put 10000 records in each and compare the sizes of the .dbf's (data) and the .cdx's (indices).

              You are correct in comparing the display size of a base 10 (numeric) verus a base 36 (character), but the size of the storage is not the same as the size of the display.
              Al Buchholz
              Bookwood Systems, LTD
              Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

              Occam's Razor - KISS
              Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
              Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
              When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
              "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
              Albert Einstein

              http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

              Comment


                #37
                RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

                I have a question on this subject also.
                I have an invoicing program similar to Alphasports.
                I imported my old invoices, products and customers tables from Access. It would be too diificult to change the Vendor, Product and Invoice numbers. ( they are all from auto increment)If I want to add a new customer the auto number starts at 00 and never increments.
                What I did was this. I put a dummy in each table and started
                the number with a letter, such as Customer number C0001.
                Would this method screw anything up?
                Wouldn't I eventually run out of numbers?

                Comment


                  #38
                  RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

                  I put a dummy in each table

                  What does that mean? not clear

                  and started the number with a letter, such as Customer number C0001. Would this method screw anything up?

                  I don't think so

                  Wouldn't I eventually run out of numbers?

                  Yes. If your field is a C5 with the first character the letter "C", then you can only have 9999 unique entries.
                  Peter
                  AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

                  [email protected]
                  https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


                  Comment


                    #39
                    RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

                    If the field rules for ID number was "C", and the first ID number was C1, and the field lenght was 8. Wouldn't I have a potential for over a million ID numbers?

                    Comment


                      #40
                      RE: Autoincrement - idnumbers ....

                      Correct: one character and 7 digits = 9,999,999 possibilities. Suggest you pad the field as follows:

                      C0000001
                      C0000002
                      C0000003
                      etc...
                      Peter
                      AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

                      [email protected]
                      https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


                      Comment

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