Re: user configurable columns

From: roger <rsr_at_rogerware.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 16:30:45 GMT
Message-ID: <Xns93FA618BE6E2Arsrrogerwarecom@204.127.199.17>

Daniel Morgan <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu> wrote in news:1063893950.484965 @yasure:

> roger wrote:
> 

>>In a previous thread...
>>
>>Daniel Morgan <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu> wrote in
news:1063841151.77203
>>@yasure:
>>
>>
>>
>>>You are correct. If the point is to provide user configurable columns
>>>... this is still a poor implementation. It can easily be done with
>>>three or so static columns and an additional VARCHAR-type column
>>>holding a pseudo column_name.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>I need to do a pretty similar kind of thing to that -
>>to allow the "user" be able to dynamically define their
>>own set of configurable attributes that are stored along
>>with the standard attributes (columns) for various objects
>>(rows in a table) that are part of an application schema.
>>
>>The wrinkle being that these configurable attributes need,
>>in some cases (as defined by the user), to be used as lookup keys
>>for the object they are attached to.
>>
>>Off hand, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I'm going to
>>index such dynamically defined columns.
>>
>>I was wondering if there are any standard design patterns
>>for that sort of thing, in terms of the RDBMS schema.
>>Any good technical articles, white papers, or other references
>>or examples etc...
>>
>>Thanks loads.
>>
>>
>>roger
>>
>>
>>

> Follow Niall's lead ... but if you have 9i, you didn't say, try this:

I probably will, as that is basically what I had envisioned anyway:)

Sorry, I should have mentioned that yes, I do have 9i.

I am aware of, and liked, the anydata approach - to a point. But I fear that it won't be supported in various 3rd party tools (TOAD, E/R Studio, etc...) and has nothing equivalent in other database platforms (sorry, it's a factor for me)

> I'm not suggesting that you use sys.anyData ... 
> but I do want to point out that we are in the business of 
> solving problems ...
> not just reusing the same tools we used last week. 
> And sometimes a bit of creativity will get you where you need
> to go.

I totally agree with that. But, I must point out that we're actually in the business of solving problems, within the bounds of certain constraints that we may or may not always like.

The fact that really-neat-oracle-specific-feature-x exists and could solve problem y in oh so elegant a fashion... does not necesarily make the use of said feature the right descision, in the context of the multitude of other factors that must be considered when formulating a system architecture.

Frustrating as this invariably is...

roger Received on Thu Sep 18 2003 - 11:30:45 CDT