Re: General database question, please.

Comments embedded

Hth,

Sybrand Bakker, Oracle DBA

Richard Hollingsworth <william.hollingsworth_at_hsv.boeing.com> schreef in berichtnieuws 39401069.B28FA4FD_at_hsv.boeing.com...
> Hi. Thanks for reading this.
>
> I'm relatively new to db (20 yrs c, c++, FORTRAN) and I need help with
> this db problem. I don't know how to design the db field, and then
> populate it with the correct data. I was hoping someone could help.
>
> Here's ths scoop.
>
> First, Oracle 8.0.5, Windows NT 4.0, Oracle Forms 2.1.

That Forms version never existed, if it's really 2.1, it won't work with Oracle 8

>
> Now, I have a form for change management. On this form, I have a
> (sounds like Old McDonnald) FRAME called AFFECTED ITEMS. In this
> FRTAME, I have 5 CHECK BOXES labeled HW, SW, Doc, Config, Other. This
> FRAME is a multi-select check box thingee, so that I can check HW and SW
> and Doc if I need to.
>
> First question. What kind of field (or fileds) do I build in the db to
> handle this. I thought of one long text field, and seperate the items
> by a comma, then parse them out to see which one(s) are checked on the
> FORM.
Aaarrrghhh!!!!. In relational database terms this is a so called repeating group. According to normalization theory, they should go to their own table. Generally speaking remember it's always more easy to concatenate multiple strings compared to 'parsing' one string in multiple strings

Sounds like a trigger to me!
>
> Next, How do I determine (from the db field) which check boxes should be
> checked on the form for each record?
>
> Example:
>
> AFFECTED ITEMS
>
> HW X
> SW X
> Doc X
> Config
> Other
>
> I really have no clue how to do this, and would really appreciate any
> advise.
>
> Thanks,
> Richard Hollingsworth
> Boeing
Received on Fri Jun 09 2000 - 00:00:00 CDT