[AccessD] vbWatchdog error handler

[James Button]

A problem with some clients is that they take data in without full validation
And that includes altering control data used to validate input,
And as an external organisation/person, the developer is often not allowed to
see the data -
So cannot actually analyse the cause of a failure.

I used to include a multi-level reporting facility that the clients IT technical
staff could activate to get reports,
 and then they could discuss the report content over the phone, or send
extracts.

A real help when the process is dealing with fair sized batches of data,
 that maybe coming into the clients systems from 3rd parties.

Recently the sort of problem I have been asked to deal with are associated with
codepage glitches 
Where MS has changed defaults used within windows Apps
 so that what were ":" or ' generate 3 or more character strings
 that appear to the receiving facility as including newlines, and other unusual
characters .
   
>From the viewpoint of an (external) support supplier the reporting facility was
at times invaluable -
Consider, have you checked that the code you supplied deals with things where
sets of very large numbers are being multiplied, and divided, and the result is
supposed to be cash, accurate to 2? Or 4 decimal places where an intermediate
division results in a number where there are 10 zeros before first nonzero
decimal digit,  or a multiplication has 15 digits before the decimal 

I was working on a stockbroker facility and had to generate a 64 bit calculation
facility as the hardware only did 32 bit values.
So - how many shares are there in the larger (global) organisations, and what is
their total worth in currencies that are billions (ZAL?) to the USD.

And that is without considering some of the calculations needed in modern
(Astro) physics.

JimB


-----Original Message-----
From: AccessD
<accessd-bounces+jamesbutton=blueyonder.co.uk at databaseadvisors.com> On Behalf Of
Stuart McLachlan
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 8:04 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Subject: Re: [AccessD] vbWatchdog error handler

Me too. :)

Error handling should be pro-active.  Untrapped errors that require this sort of
framework are 
an indication of poor design and testing.
It's just a PITA that the VBA developers have never bothered to implement
Try...Catch and 
you have to resort to IFs and/or the clunky On Error Goto.

In the rare event that a user finds a new way to break the application,  they
will generally let 
you know and you can implement a fix.

I can see it being useful during pre-release testing, but not in production.


On 30 May 2023 at 5:28, Gustav Brock via AccessD wrote:

> Hi Dan and John
> 
> I must say, I´ve never understood the need for extensive error
> handling. We test our applications very carefully, thus errors are
> extremely rare and certainly not happening on a daily basis.
> 
> /gustav
> 
> Fra: Daniel Waters<mailto:df.waters at outlook.com>
> Sendt: 30. maj 2023 02:48
> Til: Access Developers discussion and problem
> solving<mailto:accessd at databaseadvisors.com> Emne: Re: [AccessD]
> vbWatchdog error handler
> 
> Hi John,
> 
> I used this up until about 5 years ago.  It's an excellent addition,
> and much more than worth the money.  Set up a table to store the error
> data, create a report that shows that data, and set up a daily email
> so you'll know of any errors that occurred yesterday at each of your
> customers.  Or you can set up an immediate email for any error or if a
> certain type of error occurs.
> 



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