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Originally posted by mharr

Not to speak for cplusplus, but occasionally, I will use this to have a blank first listitem in a bound combobox (or drop-down list). If the data value for the column is optional, it provides a way for the user to select a null value, or allow a null value to be allowed.

Mark

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quote:

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Originally posted by jsmith8858

That should be handled by the front-end.

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quote:

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Originally posted by jsmith8858
... since those blank rows are not data ...

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quote:

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Originally posted by mharr

Then let me put my 29 years of development experience (long before Codd put his 12 rules to paper) to the side and ask another question. WHY does it have to be on front-end job.

This poor guy probably is struggling with an unreasonable DBA that say "all queries have to be stored procedures". Yes, it CAN be done on the front-end. But perhaps the sproc is probably used only to populate combo boxes, the associated data field allows nulls, so I can contend that this properly belongs in the "back-end" to be used/re-used/shared/consistent wherever this list for combo boxes is used.

Mark

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quote:

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Originally posted by mharr

Not to speak for cplusplus, but occasionally, I will use this to have a blank first listitem in a bound combobox (or drop-down list). If the data value for the column is optional, it provides a way for the user to select a null value, or allow a null value to be allowed.


Mark

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Dim i as integer
set i=1
cbItems.AddItem(0)="ALL"

While not Rs.EOF
      cbItems.AddItem(i)=Rs("col")
      Rs.moveNext
      i=i+1
Loop

quote:

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Originally posted by Peso

I think he do not know of this Madhi, and instead is using a databound grid with one column to show the data.
Hence the urge for "<all>" or "<please select>" record in the resultset.

You can learn a lot from a guy with 29+ years of experience. Don't mock him...


Peter Larsson
Helsingborg, Sweden

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quote:

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Originally posted by Peso

I think he do not know of this Madhi, and instead is using a databound grid with one column to show the data.
Hence the urge for "<all>" or "<please select>" record in the resultset.

You can learn a lot from a guy with 29+ years of experience. Don't mock him...


Peter Larsson
Helsingborg, Sweden

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quote:

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Originally posted by mharr

One last attempt to describe the scenario where this is appropriate.

The original question asked for a row of "no values" at the beginning of the resultset from a stored procedure. I have provided a way to do so. In response to jsmith asking why this was desired, I explained a couple scenarios this could be useful. Yes, madhivan, I am aware of how to do so in VB apps. In Asp.Net web apps, using a bound dropdown list control for a column that allows null values, the control does not provide for setting an unselected value (equivalant to listindex = -1 in VB). To show a null data value, you need a row in the dropdown list to show an empty or unselected value. You can do it on the front-end by the same "manual" VB method shown by madhivan, or intercept the datasource dataset and add the empty row to the datatable, or add an item to the Items collection and specify .AppendDataBoundItems=True. Or you can add an empty row in the stored procedure (as I showed), and the empty row is there without any client-side code.

Note that this is not the same as "<select all>" or "ALL" or "(please select)". This is appropriate for the instance where a null value is permitted and allowed. You can add those types of items on front-end, and have some postback code to check and handle those values.

But if you want to allow a null value for the data item, and allow the user to select a null value, and have the data item updated to a null value, then a null value ("empty row") in the resultset is appropriate. Adding it to the query to load the dropdown list is the easiest way to do it, and fits all the rules and criteria for good design; the null value is a valid data value.

Mark

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quote:

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Originally posted by mharr

One last attempt to describe the scenario where this is appropriate.

The original question asked for a row of "no values" at the beginning of the resultset from a stored procedure. I have provided a way to do so. In response to jsmith asking why this was desired, I explained a couple scenarios this could be useful. Yes, madhivan, I am aware of how to do so in VB apps. In Asp.Net web apps, using a bound dropdown list control for a column that allows null values, the control does not provide for setting an unselected value (equivalant to listindex = -1 in VB). To show a null data value, you need a row in the dropdown list to show an empty or unselected value. You can do it on the front-end by the same "manual" VB method shown by madhivan, or intercept the datasource dataset and add the empty row to the datatable, or add an item to the Items collection and specify .AppendDataBoundItems=True. Or you can add an empty row in the stored procedure (as I showed), and the empty row is there without any client-side code.

Note that this is not the same as "<select all>" or "ALL" or "(please select)". This is appropriate for the instance where a null value is permitted and allowed. You can add those types of items on front-end, and have some postback code to check and handle those values.

But if you want to allow a null value for the data item, and allow the user to select a null value, and have the data item updated to a null value, then a null value ("empty row") in the resultset is appropriate. Adding it to the query to load the dropdown list is the easiest way to do it, and fits all the rules and criteria for good design; the null value is a valid data value.

Mark

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