Re: User Defined Fields - HELP PLEASE!

Mark D Powell wrote:
> I will take a contrary view. If the user wants user defined columns
> then perhaps he or she should have them.
>
> There are applications on the market that are built to allow the user
> to define their own columns along with the vendor provided columns.
> One such product is MAXIMO, which is primarily an equipment maintenance
> planning and tracking system.
>
> HTH -- Mark D Powell --

I'll match your bid and raise you one.

Let the users choke.

Databases should be designed and built by professionals of which even our industry suffers too many fools. End users defining columns almost by definition means a lack of data integrity. It certainly means a lack of proper indexing, and MAXIMO is a horrifying mess generally implemented by large government agencies that know less about software than they do about balancing budgets.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with 'u' to respond)