There are some circumstances in which the id of a sexual cycle (Cid) must be altered. This appendix presents one example showing what happens when sexual cycle events are added to the database. Similar alterations are required when sexual cycle events are deleted, a record of a gap in observation is added to the database, or a record of a gap in observation is removed from the database.
The tables shown in the example contain some, but not all, of the columns of both CYCLES and CYCPOINTS.
Example C.1. “Splitting” a sexual cycle in two
Suppose there is, in date order, a Mdate, Tdate, and
Ddate. They are all in the same cycle, and so have the same
Cid. (Say Cid 10. Consequently they have the
same CYCLES.Seq, say Seq 1).
Table C.1. Sexual cycle events before insertion
| Cid | Seq | Code | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
10
|
1
|
M
|
Date 1 |
10
|
1
|
T
|
Date 2 |
10
|
1
|
D
|
Date 3 |
Now, a new Tdate, Ddate, and Mdate (in that order by date) are
added to the database. Their dates all fall between the Mdate
and Tdate with Cid 10. The result is:
Table C.2. Sexual cycle events after insertion
| Cid | Seq | Code | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
11
|
1
|
M
|
Date 1 |
11
|
1
|
T
|
Date 1.1 |
11
|
1
|
D
|
Date 1.2 |
10
|
2
|
M
|
Date 1.3 |
10
|
2
|
T
|
Date 2 |
10
|
2
|
D
|
Date 3 |
The first Mdate, Date 1, has changed its Cid. Dates 2 and 3,
the original Tdate and Ddate, have changed their Seq.
Although this sort of thing may only happen when mistakes are corrected, when it does happen there's no way around changing some Mdate, Tdate, or Ddate's Cid.