[Babase] lymphstates

Susan Alberts alberts at duke.edu
Thu Jul 22 11:20:00 EDT 2010


Thanks Karl,Are you saying that if it is designated as a character but  
we query it as if it was numeric we will not get an error? In that  
case I have no problem with it. I just wasn't sure what you meant by  
that database will automatically convert.
Susan
On Jul 21, 2010, at 4:46 PM, Karl O. Pinc wrote:

> You know what?  This change does not make any sense.
> The database will automatically convert '1' into
> 1, and vice versa, as needed.
>
> On 07/21/2010 11:21:07 AM, Karl O. Pinc wrote:
>> On 07/21/2010 08:32:56 AM, Susan Alberts wrote:
>>> My only comment on this is that if the column is numeric but coded
>> as
>>>
>>> a character it can be very confusing to query because it won't be
>>> natural or obvious that you need to query as a character, so I at
>> any
>>>
>>> rate would often end up writing a query with this statement
>>>
>>> Select * from lymphstates
>>> where state = 1
>>>
>>> Instead of
>>>
>>> where state = '1'
>>
>>> For
>>>
>>> this reason,  if it's numeric it should be coded as  numeric and if
>>
>>> it's a character it would be better to have it as a letter. Does
>> this
>>>
>>> make sense?  I'm okay with either.
>>
>> Ok.  Makes sense.  I'll make it numeric.
>>
>>
>> Karl <kop at meme.com>
>> Free Software:  "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
>>                 -- Robert A. Heinlein
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
>
> Karl <kop at meme.com>
> Free Software:  "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
>                 -- Robert A. Heinlein
>
>
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--------------------------------------------------------
Susan Alberts, Dept of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham NC  
27708, 919-660-7272 (Ph), 919-660-7293 (Fax)






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