[AccessD] Home inventory problem

Thank you, Arthur. I thought, at first, about suggesting the addition
of columns to a master table as you did. It seemed to be one of those
relational thingummies that we're taught to avoid. Granted, your
solution is much the simplest -- leaving out the flower children on
this list.

Steve Erbach

On Apr 9, 2005 11:42 AM, Arthur Fuller <artful at rogers.com> wrote:
> First of all, I would question the usefulness of placing the objects in
> numerous tables. The first problem with this design is the fact that you
> have to add new tables relatively frequently. I would suggest -- at
> least for purposes of kicking it around -- another structure in which
> two tables -- ObjectTypes and Objects -- are used. Every time you need a
> new object type, you add a row to that table. This new object may
> require new columns that are not yet present in Objects. So you add
> them. Then you create a view/query for each object type that exposes
> only those rows from Objects that are relevant to said object type. For
> example, automobiles have a VIN#, CDs don't, and so on. But on the other
> hand, virtually all the objects have things in common, such as
> Description, purchase date, purchase price and so on, so all queries
> will contain these columns. A good way to do that is to create one query
> that includes all the common columns, and additional queries (one per
> object type) that add the columns unique to that type.
> 
> One significant advantage to this design is the ease with which you can
> produce a report that includes all objects of all object types -- just
> report the common columns.
> 
> Once you have the queries for each object type, you could generate
> autoForms, set their default to DataSheet, then create a master form
> with a tab control, and plonk each DS form onto its own tab. The master
> form could be based on the ObjectTypes table, making the links to the
> Objects table a no-brainer.
> 
> Assuming that you have a list of the properties for each object type,
> you could do this whole app in a morning.
> 
> Arthur