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#1
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Do not want data to auto sort
Rick B wrote: Tables do not reliably sort data. The word 'reliably' makes no sense here. A table cannot sort data. A cursor sorts data. Tables are buckets for storing records What is it with 'buckets around here?! At the physical level, the data in a table is stored in a high predictable order (PK order as at last file compact, date/time order subsequently). You are correct in pointing out a table's physical attributes are not significant considerations. Tables should only really be considered at the logically level i.e. a complete set of entities. You should not be using the tables as an interface anyway Again, this makes no sense. How can table be an interface? |
#2
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A cursor sorts data? Huh? A cursor is that little flashing thing on your
screen. A table does not sort data per se. You can sort the data in a table while you are viewing it. The records are stored in SOME order. I did not flat out say they DON'T because there was a recent post where someone argued with an MVP for most of the day claiming that tables do use a logical sort. I said, a table should NOT be an interface. Please do not add to a discussion if you have nothing worthwhile to add. Thanks, -- Rick B wrote in message ups.com... Rick B wrote: Tables do not reliably sort data. The word 'reliably' makes no sense here. A table cannot sort data. A cursor sorts data. Tables are buckets for storing records What is it with 'buckets around here?! At the physical level, the data in a table is stored in a high predictable order (PK order as at last file compact, date/time order subsequently). You are correct in pointing out a table's physical attributes are not significant considerations. Tables should only really be considered at the logically level i.e. a complete set of entities. You should not be using the tables as an interface anyway Again, this makes no sense. How can table be an interface? |
#3
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Rick B wrote: You seem to be having problems following things. A cursor is that little flashing thing on your screen. I suppose this was meant to be ironic? The MSDN article What the Heck is a Cursor, Anyway? http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...rsoranyway.asp opens with these lines "No, this is not the little flashing mark that shows you where you are on the screen. You can think of a cursor .... as another way of referring to a recordset." A cursor sorts data? Huh? Allow me to quote further: "when our application issues the SQL query, the results are really returned in no specific order. The records returned reflect the arbitrary order in which they exist in the database - usually the order that they were entered in. However, they are presented to us in a nice, sequential order. This is what a cursor does for us - it manages the recordset." I hope you can now appreciate now absurd a statement such as, "You can sort the data in a table while you are viewing it" sounds. there was a recent post where someone argued with an MVP for most of the day claiming that tables do use a logical sort. At the *physical* level a table has a predictable order. At the 'logical level a table has no inherent order. So you totally missed the point. You should not be using the tables as an interface a table should NOT be an interface. Change 'should not' to 'cannot'. How could a *database* table (likewise a query or Query object) possibly be mistaken for an 'interface' at all?! If this is meant to be humour (do you mean 'table' as in a piece of furniture, perhaps?), then sorry but it is totally lost on me. Please do not add to a discussion if you lack even a basic grasp of the fundamental concepts. |
#4
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Again, is this adding anything useful to the conversation? Your little
semantics are interesting, but don't really add anything to the topic. Thanks for the terribly interesting information on the term "cursor". I'm sure we'll all benefit from reading this. As far as the interface comment, if you will read the previous posts, you will find that many newer users work directly in the tables. They add data, view data, sort, delete, etc. They do not take advantage of the objects designed for this purpose. They use the table as a user interface to the database. An interface is the screen used to allow a user to communicate with the computer. In most cases, this would be a form, but many newer users mistakenly use the tables. Have a good day, -- Rick B wrote in message ups.com... Rick B wrote: You seem to be having problems following things. A cursor is that little flashing thing on your screen. I suppose this was meant to be ironic? The MSDN article What the Heck is a Cursor, Anyway? http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...rsoranyway.asp opens with these lines "No, this is not the little flashing mark that shows you where you are on the screen. You can think of a cursor .... as another way of referring to a recordset." A cursor sorts data? Huh? Allow me to quote further: "when our application issues the SQL query, the results are really returned in no specific order. The records returned reflect the arbitrary order in which they exist in the database - usually the order that they were entered in. However, they are presented to us in a nice, sequential order. This is what a cursor does for us - it manages the recordset." I hope you can now appreciate now absurd a statement such as, "You can sort the data in a table while you are viewing it" sounds. there was a recent post where someone argued with an MVP for most of the day claiming that tables do use a logical sort. At the *physical* level a table has a predictable order. At the 'logical level a table has no inherent order. So you totally missed the point. You should not be using the tables as an interface a table should NOT be an interface. Change 'should not' to 'cannot'. How could a *database* table (likewise a query or Query object) possibly be mistaken for an 'interface' at all?! If this is meant to be humour (do you mean 'table' as in a piece of furniture, perhaps?), then sorry but it is totally lost on me. Please do not add to a discussion if you lack even a basic grasp of the fundamental concepts. |
#5
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Rick B wrote: Again, is this adding anything useful to the conversation? Your little semantics are interesting, but don't really add anything to the topic. You admit you knew nothing about cursors. This isn't semantics, this is fundamentals. How, then, can *you* contribute to a discussion about sorting data? Then you accuse me of having nothing useful to add! As far as the interface comment, if you will read the previous posts, you will find that many newer users work directly in the tables. They add data, view data, sort, delete, etc. They do not take advantage of the objects designed for this purpose. They use the table as a user interface to the database. An interface is the screen used to allow a user to communicate with the computer. In most cases, this would be a form, but many newer users mistakenly use the tables. Ah, I think I've worked out where you've been going wrong. You may be in for a shock here but Access is not a database. Access is a database management tool and a forms-based Windows application development platform. The 'database' in question in usually Jet (it could be something else but let's not complicate matters; when someone says 'Access database' you can usually take it as read that they mean 'Jet database'). Access does not 'own' Jet; more like the other way round because the elements Access requires (Forms, Reports, UI settings, etc) are stored in the Jet database. I use Jet .mdb and .mdw files everyday but - guess what - I don't use Access. I have an application built on another platform which uses ADO to manipulate the data and schema. It's a lot cheaper than a licence: from MSDN I can download MDAC 2.5, which includes Jet, and then upgrade to the latest MDAC plus the latest Jet service pack, all for free. The ..mdb format is freely distributable and can be created using ADO. So, for example, if I want to look at the data in the Employees table in Northwind I'll retrieve a pre-save connection string to Northwind and type, or rather extract from by interrogating the schema) a SQL query such as SELECT EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, ... FROM Employees then open a recordset write a the first portion of the data to a grid control on a form. When you do the same in the Access UI you essentially go through the same processes. I'm going out on a limb here (because, as I've already admitted, I haven't used Access much) but I'm guessing that rather than looking at the table itself (whatever that means) you are in fact looking at the results of a recordset (or very similar object) on a form on screen. If there is an ability to sort this view then I wager behind the scenes the recordset is being sorted and the view refreshed. In short, you are deluding yourself if you think viewing data in the Access UI is the 'real' table. You may not have designed the form yourself, written the SQL or instantiated a recordset but that doesn't mean they are not their, lurking under the covers. If you have been tricked into thinking you are looking at the 'actual' table, then hats off to the Access designers! |
#6
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I use Jet .mdb and .mdw files everyday but - guess what - I don't use
Access. Hmmm - I thought this was an Access tablesdesign newsgroup? In short, you are deluding yourself if you think viewing data in the Access UI is the 'real' table. Well, if Access has no tables, then perhaps you should complain to Microsoft about the name i\of this newsgroup. As I previously stated, I'm sure your long VERY DETAILED VERY SPECIFIC answers are real helpful to someone who asked how to stop his tables from sorting. Thanks for sharing your wonderful knowledge with us and correcting the wording that is used to try to help a newer user resolve his issue. I'm certain YOUR posts were the ones that answered his questions. NOT!!! Get a life moron. wrote in message ups.com... Rick B wrote: Again, is this adding anything useful to the conversation? Your little semantics are interesting, but don't really add anything to the topic. You admit you knew nothing about cursors. This isn't semantics, this is fundamentals. How, then, can *you* contribute to a discussion about sorting data? Then you accuse me of having nothing useful to add! As far as the interface comment, if you will read the previous posts, you will find that many newer users work directly in the tables. They add data, view data, sort, delete, etc. They do not take advantage of the objects designed for this purpose. They use the table as a user interface to the database. An interface is the screen used to allow a user to communicate with the computer. In most cases, this would be a form, but many newer users mistakenly use the tables. Ah, I think I've worked out where you've been going wrong. You may be in for a shock here but Access is not a database. Access is a database management tool and a forms-based Windows application development platform. The 'database' in question in usually Jet (it could be something else but let's not complicate matters; when someone says 'Access database' you can usually take it as read that they mean 'Jet database'). Access does not 'own' Jet; more like the other way round because the elements Access requires (Forms, Reports, UI settings, etc) are stored in the Jet database. I use Jet .mdb and .mdw files everyday but - guess what - I don't use Access. I have an application built on another platform which uses ADO to manipulate the data and schema. It's a lot cheaper than a licence: from MSDN I can download MDAC 2.5, which includes Jet, and then upgrade to the latest MDAC plus the latest Jet service pack, all for free. The .mdb format is freely distributable and can be created using ADO. So, for example, if I want to look at the data in the Employees table in Northwind I'll retrieve a pre-save connection string to Northwind and type, or rather extract from by interrogating the schema) a SQL query such as SELECT EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, ... FROM Employees then open a recordset write a the first portion of the data to a grid control on a form. When you do the same in the Access UI you essentially go through the same processes. I'm going out on a limb here (because, as I've already admitted, I haven't used Access much) but I'm guessing that rather than looking at the table itself (whatever that means) you are in fact looking at the results of a recordset (or very similar object) on a form on screen. If there is an ability to sort this view then I wager behind the scenes the recordset is being sorted and the view refreshed. In short, you are deluding yourself if you think viewing data in the Access UI is the 'real' table. You may not have designed the form yourself, written the SQL or instantiated a recordset but that doesn't mean they are not their, lurking under the covers. If you have been tricked into thinking you are looking at the 'actual' table, then hats off to the Access designers! |
#7
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This looked like it would become quite an interesting thread as of your
first post, peregenem, so I've been following it and, indeed, it payed! I also thought the style looked familiar, and the - admittedly - deep knowldge of the inner workings of databases, reminded me of someone I hadn't seen I the NG's for a while... until I saw you admit you don't really know much about Access! You did that once before when you were cornered. There's nothing wrong with admitting you don't know something, in my humble opinion. On the other hand, I fail to see the point in going to such lengths to prove others ignorant, especially when they are frequent contributors to these newsgroups, and have helped many others - much more than you have, from what I've seen. The one thing that puzzles me the most, though, is why you need all those identities. I was wondering about it when you were switching between Jamie Collins and OneDayWhen (looks like a threat?), now what's with yet another one? Bottomline, you're wasting good knowledge and time on the wrong cause! Proving you know more that the mere mortals here doesn't do anybody any good (except maybe your ego). I suggest you put your energy behind helping where you can, and shut up when you have nothing to contribute. Nikos Yannacopoulos |
#8
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Nikos Yannacopoulos wrote: There's nothing wrong with admitting you don't know something, in my humble opinion. On the other hand, I fail to see the point in going to such lengths to prove others ignorant, especially when they are frequent contributors to these newsgroups, and have helped many others - much more than you have, from what I've seen. I'll be accused of being Joe Celko himself next Parody is the sincerest form of flattery. Your name is one I recognize as someone who does listen and learn, so I ask you: don't you think it strange that someone who thinks a cursor is "a little flashing thing on your screen" should be the one giving advice about sorting data? This guy seems to think the thing he sees in Access is the 'actual' table. Help us out he does this form/view have a name, Table DataSheet View or some such? If Rick B could use this term in his posts in place of the word 'table' then he will help rather than cofuse. Of course we are all volunteers who make misstatements and one time or another; most of us are gracious if not grateful when called on it. As I'm always saying, "It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble. It's the things we know that just ain't so." And please buy my book DATA AND DATABASES (ISBN 1-55860-432-4). Tables sorting data? Tables as interfaces? Yes, perhaps even I (whichever one I am today) can't help. |
#9
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I don't really care what your real name is, or whether you admit being
the same person behind those other two identities (which I know you are). I'm just curious why you need all of them. But even that is not of any major concern. My intention here was not to defend Rick B, whom I only know in the same way I know you: through your posts in the NG's. Rick may have been wrong about the cursor, but let the one who's never been wrong, cast the first stone. On the other hand, I've seen him be helpful on a number of occasions, even though he may not have known what the heck the cursor really is... that's because Rick, and many other ignorants, including yours truly, have been answering MS-Access questions, which is what these NG's are about, and have been trying to *answer the question that was asked*, as opposed to the question they would have liked to have been asked, because that's what they know, and showing off makes them feel superior. My intention, really, weas to say just this: if you like giving lectures and writing articles on your favourite subject, pls go ahead and do so, by all means, but do it in the right place. If you have an answer on a particular question that is asked in the NG's, please do post it, otherwise spare us. After all, you don't really have that many answers, you admitted yourself you don't know much about Access; do what you do best, and leave the rest to those who do it better. Nikos P.S. Admittedly, I have learned a couple of things from you, and probably others have too. The problem is your attittude puts people off, and doesn't really do justice to your knowledge. |
#10
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Nikos Yannacopoulos wrote: Rick may have been wrong about the cursor, but let the one who's never been wrong, cast the first stone. On the other hand, I've seen him be helpful on a number of occasions, even though he may not have known what the heck the cursor really is... that's because Rick, and many other ignorants, including yours truly, have been answering MS-Access questions, which is what these NG's are about, and have been trying to *answer the question that was asked*, as opposed to the question they would have liked to have been asked, because that's what they know, and showing off makes them feel superior. I don't want to put this (or any) individual off answering questions. My hope was that they would read up on cursors and learn from it for next time. It's a shame they were just sarcastic in return but some people you just can't reach. He made a misstatement or two about tables, no big deal. I sought to correct the misstatements and all are free to ignore what I write (I'm in no doubt that most do). You seem to be saying that this guy has been helpful in the past and his intentions were good, well then that's nice but why is that relevant to him making misstatements? I can't stress this enough: we all make misstatements and it's no big deal (that's why I wouldn't throw stones). You raise an interesting topic for me i.e. motivation for posting replies. Rick B is a helpful guy in these NGs but if is he helping people because it makes him all warm and fuzzy inside then isn't he really doing it for himself? You raise another issue: should we answer the OP's question or alternatively seek to inform the OP (or respondents) that there is better way? A classic one in these NGs is storing calculations in a table. Do you say never do it (ignoring or in ignorance of exceptions)? Do you say, in these circumstances they would be storing redundant and potentially misleading (e.g. out of date) data? Or do you answer the question and tell them how to store their calculations in their table? Nikos, you are a good guy and I listen to and respect what you say. I'm not here to exercise my ego or make myself appear superior. I take your feedback and will try to ensure that matters of ego do not creep in. You think they have done in the past so then I apologize openly. On a similar note, I genuinely hope Rick B hasn't been offended by any of this and extend my regret and apologies to him if he has. If you are interested I can tell you I'm here to exercise my brain. I like problem solving with SQL and I work out my own answers to problems posted here. Some answers I post, some I don't (and many I can't solve at all!) You are correct: I'm not motivated by directly helping OPs but maybe if posting my answers makes someone somewhere think about changing their approach ('Hey maybe *I* should write DDL!') then perhaps I will have been indirectly helpful. I'm interested in the subject matter and not the people and personalities involved. Maybe I am a bad person for this. I acknowledge that I sometimes seek to correct misstatements and challenge biased views (while avoiding pointless discussions which have been done to death before e.g. ADO vs DAO). Yes it's a weakness of mine, a natural sense of wanting to right wrongs. Do you think I should stop doing this? |
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