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Just curious why

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    Just curious why

    I've seen this kind of thing before and it makes me curious. Presumably I'm missing something.

    This is presented as an easier way to do something: (from the release notes)
    <Tbl>.data() Method. Table objects now have a new method to read data from the table. <tbl>.data(fieldname) gets the value of the specified field from the current record.
    t = table.open("customer")
    ui_msg_box("",t.data("firstname"))

    'The above code is a shortcut for this:
    t = table.open("customer")
    f = t.field_get("firstname")
    ui_msg_box("",f.value_get())
    But I don't understand why it was needed when this seems just as good to me:
    Code:
    t = table.open("customer")
    ui_msg_box( "", t.firstname )
    What's the value of using t.data(<fieldname>) instead of t.<fieldname>? It seems like you still have to know the field name to use the new function so why not just use it in the first place?

    I seldom use the "field_get()" anyway because it's so inefficient - at least from a typing standpoint.

    #2
    Re: Just curious why

    I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one wondering 'bout that.

    I had the exact same thoughts.
    Tim Kiebert
    Eagle Creek Citrus
    A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Just curious why

      my guess would be it was developed to be used in action scripting where they are working blind.

      but I have always used eval() when I am stepping through fields that I don't know hte name of.
      Cole Custom Programming - Terrell, Texas
      972 524 8714
      [email protected]

      ____________________
      "A young man who is not liberal has no heart, but an old man who is not conservative has no mind." GB Shaw

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Just curious why

        Could it be that the guys at Alpha have simply developed a new function without realizing what was already possible, like some of us do???
        Regards
        Keith Hubert
        Alpha Guild Member
        London.
        KHDB Management Systems
        Skype = keith.hubert


        For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Just curious why

          I had the same confusion when reading this feature.

          Bill.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Just curious why

            What's the value of using t.data(<fieldname>) instead of t.<fieldname>?
            Haven't read the release notes, but I could see at least one benefit:
            With <tbl>.data() you could use the field's name dynamically.
            Not that you can't do it otherwise, but <tbl>.data() seems to take a shortcut.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Just curious why

              Hi Cal,

              The reason we added this is so that local table pointers can be passed around to the same functions that SQL resultset sets are.

              Dim rs as sql::resultset
              ...
              ? rs.data("customer_id")

              or

              dim t as p
              t = table.open("customer")
              ...
              ? t.data("customer_id")

              The only code that would need to be different is the code that actually opens/closes the table (initialization) - if that is passed in to a function as a generic pointer variable, then the function can be written to work with tables and result-sets, just by using the data function instead of the table.<property> pattern.

              For purposes of navigation, we also added a <table>.nextrow() method, that behaves exactly like the <resultSet>.nextrow method - so code that loops over tables and result-sets can look the same.

              If you are a user that will never use the low-level SQL api, this function doesn't really add any functionality. If you are an end user who wants to write code that can retrieve data from both tables and result-sets - and not care how the data is stored, this makes it much easier to do so.

              The next patch will see the addition of the .data() method made available to dot variables (for the same reason).

              Hope this explains the feature...

              -Cian

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Just curious why

                Cian,

                As usual, your explanation is great insight and just the sort of thing needed to help us adjust to new ways of doing things. This level of detail saves a lot of non-productive thrashing about on the part of us users.

                Thanks.

                Bill.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Just curious why

                  Originally posted by Cian Chambliss View Post
                  If you are a user that will never use the low-level SQL api, this function doesn't really add any functionality.
                  Maybe not.. but then again, maybe it does. Just because alpha designs something for one purpose, doesn't mean you can't use it for another. We do that all the time once you take the tunnel-vision glasses off.

                  So, I will stake my claim at "thrashing about" like everybody else except in this case, I will follow the wisdom of "Speak for yourself only":

                  To get values from fields in a table using table.open(), you would say:
                  t=table.open("....")
                  ..now is the tricky part...
                  you would have to hard-code the fields' names, that's unless you initialized those fields' names by another function, which is what you would have to do in either case, except with:
                  <tbl>.data() you could iterate over your list right away, while with:
                  t.field_name you would have to evaluate the variable each time.
                  Last edited by G Gabriel; 07-14-2008, 05:15 PM.

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