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Field Lengths & Index's

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    Field Lengths & Index's

    I was reading different messages and info on Field Length and Index Type's and wanted to know if there are any known issues with the following:

    #1) Should we keep the Field Names to 8 Characters? Spaces in Field Names Ok?

    #2) Is there an issue with Numeric Index's like Customer #?
    Would we be better off making the index's Character Type?

    Whats the general rule and your experience on this using A5v7?

    #2
    Jerry,

    I have always found it best to avoid spaces in field names. The reason is that, in someplaces, A5 doesn't allow a space and will put one in for you. That can cause you problems in lookups, etc. A lot of what Alpha does hidden behind the scenes is text processing, and spaces can interfere with the parsing.

    I usually use underscores where I would otherwise put spaces.

    Since you asked this question in the Web forum, I would recommend against numeric indexes. The reason is that everything you enter in a web page is character, so if you want to search for a key value and the index is numeric, you'll have to convert the text value to numeric before you submit it. There doesn't seem to be any down side to character values in indexes...autoincrement works on characters as well as numbers as long as the first "value" has enough characters. So, for example, if my key field is 8 characters long, I make my fist key value "10000000".

    Pat
    Pat Bremkamp
    MindKicks Consulting

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      #3
      Although I always avoided numeric indexes in the past, I've had to rethink it now. MySQL requires that autoincrement fields be numeric. I don't know about other client-server databases, but I wouldn't be surprised if others share that philosophy. So for autoincrement fields I will probably switch to numeric fields/numeric indices in the future, to make the transition to client/server easier.

      Comment


        #4
        You might want to take a look at the writeup I did awhile back on Alpha Five Naming Recommendations.

        PLEASE NOTE: The important thing is to read WHY I've chosen to use the formats that I have. Even if you don't like the specific choices, read WHY I chose them so you can make your own EDUCATED choices. Whatever you chose, please don't chose it because "that's what is used in the XYZ program." For example, even though coal works well and is very economical for running an electric generating plant for a city, it isn't very appropriate for generating electricity to charge the batteries in a submarine. Similarly, make your choices in A5 based on what's appropriate for A5 - not just what is used as a standard for something else.

        I'm also thinking about adding a new note about another reason for not leaving blank spaces in layout and table names. (The fact that my 'naming' document hasn't been changed in 3 years should tell you something about my success with these methods.) In the A5 xbasic editor you can double click to select whole words but a layout name or table names with spaces requires you to select the name more carefully. By using underscores instead of blank spaces, you can save a little bit of time each time you select one of these names. It's not significant in terms of the overall project but it does reduce the annoyance factor.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Peter.Wayne
          Although I always avoided numeric indexes in the past, I've had to rethink it now. MySQL requires that autoincrement fields be numeric. I don't know about other client-server databases, but I wouldn't be surprised if others share that philosophy. So for autoincrement fields I will probably switch to numeric fields/numeric indices in the future, to make the transition to client/server easier.
          Peter,
          I am with you on this, I use numeric autoincrement fields for linking and I have not had any trouble as of yet and you are correct MySQL, MS-SQL, access and many others use a numeric autoincrement fields for linking so is Alpha Five the exception and y?
          Kind Regards,
          Ray Roosa
          Raylin Micro, LLC.

          Comment


            #6
            Purely conjecture but the .DBF format (mid-60s) is very, very, old in "computer programming years" and MS-SQL (1992??), MySQL (1996+), and Access (1992) are very, very young relatively speaking. I suspect this was a significant factor.

            dBase -- according to the Wikipedia, "dBASE's history can be traced back to the mid-1960s"

            MS Access -- Version 1.0 released in 1992.

            MS-SQL -- Microsoft SQL Server for NT v4.2 was shipped around 1992. (When did it really become "MS-SQL"? 1998?)

            MySQL -- couldn't find a date but did find this -- "At TcX, the predecessor of MySQL AB, MySQL code has worked in projects since mid-1996"

            I could be wrong but I suspect that 30 years of development probably resulted in a few changes in database design standards.

            Comment


              #7
              Very helpful, Thanks for everyones input.

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