[AccessD] Surrogates vs Natural

There's really nothing wrong with letting the user view the primary key
value, just can't let the user change it. I can see a situation where a user
might use an AutoNumber primary key value for some kind of paper trail --
auditing purposes for quick lists or something like that. Years ago, I
tracked PO's and one of the things the controller forced me to do was to
keep a running list of PO numbers and who had them. Now, I could do that
using the software, but he insisted on having a hand-written list that I was
responsible for. 

I use an Access database to store all my article/book topics and track
payments. I use an AutoNumber pk, which I use to quickly find records. My
work orders (internal, just for me) have the pk and when I need to update
the record, I just find that record. Now, admittedly, if I had built this
for users, I wouldn't force them to do this -- but for me, it's a shortcut. 

I think I can see users needing to see some kind of identifying value in
some cases. You could go to the trouble to create a number for this purpose,
but I don't see why you would. 

In the end, development has evolved beyond the original rules. Yes, they're
the foundation of all the decisions we make, but everything changes. 

Susan H. 

Hi Marty and Arthur

I've found that you always should wear glasses when reading Joe's stuff.
But I think he is right here; what is the problem by switching from 10-digit
UPC to 14-digit EAN numbers for retail articles?

And I guess this is nothing more than a typo:

".. never used in queries, DRI or anything else that a user does."

Should read:

".. never used in queries' resultsets, DRI or anything else that a user
does."

/gustav