[Babase] lymphstates

Karl O. Pinc kop at meme.com
Thu Jul 22 15:15:46 EDT 2010


On 07/22/2010 01:52:51 PM, Jeanne Altmann wrote:
> Although it would work in this instance, particularly as zero is not
> one
> of the codes we're using here, unless I'm missing something it feels
> cleaner to have it as integer if that's easy.

It is easy, but you should not be able to tell the difference either
way.  (Except that one way you would be precluded from ever using
letters as codes.)

Because it really does not matter I'm not sure why the issue was
even brought up.

> jeanne
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: babase-bounces at eeblistserv.princeton.edu
> [mailto:babase-bounces at eeblistserv.princeton.edu] On Behalf Of Karl 
> O.
> Pinc
> Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 11:58 AM
> To: The Baboon Database Project
> Subject: Re: [Babase] lymphstates
> 
> On 07/22/2010 10:20:00 AM, Susan Alberts wrote:
> > 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?
> 
> That's right.  The db will automatically convert between the
> 2 datatypes; when it sees an integer being compared with
> a character it converts the integer to characters and then
> does the comparison.
> 
> 
>  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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> > >> Babase at www.eco.princeton.edu
> > >> http://www.eco.princeton.edu/mailman/listinfo/babase
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Karl <kop at meme.com>
> > > Free Software:  "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
> > >                 -- Robert A. Heinlein
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Babase mailing list
> > > Babase at www.eco.princeton.edu
> > > http://www.eco.princeton.edu/mailman/listinfo/babase
> > 
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > Susan Alberts, Dept of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham
> NC 
> > 
> > 27708, 919-660-7272 (Ph), 919-660-7293 (Fax)
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://www.eco.princeton.edu/mailman/listinfo/babase
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 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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