Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!accur8!emuleomo From: emuleomo@accur8.UUCP (Olumide Emuleomo) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: Oracle: Previous Record Message-ID: <259@accur8.UUCP> Date: 23 Jul 89 01:55:33 GMT References: <20645@cup.portal.com> Organization: Accurate Information Systems, Inc. Lines: 31 In article <20645@cup.portal.com>, Bron@cup.portal.com (George Bron Faison) writes: > Re: Oracle: Previous Record > On 7/17/89 11:22 mao@eden.uucp (Mike Olson ) writes: > >in article <20532@cup.portal.com>, Bron@cup.portal.com (G.B. Faison) writes > >>In an article written 7/7/89 17:48 miker@tdpvax.UUCP writes: > >> > >>> I am using Oracle on SCO386 Xenix and I wish to be able to be > >>> able to retrieve a previous record. > >> > >> ... you should think *sets* not record-at-a-time! > >> Previous record has no valid meaning in a truly relational system > >> where by definition physical ordering is irrelevant. > > > >a valid point, but virtually all commercial implementations of SQL provide > > However, all access to the database is (and properly so in my opinion) > through SQL, and SQL defines no "previous row" and shouldn't. It's > just inappropriate. Using PRO*C (C with embedded SQL cursors, fetches, I seems to me that peaople are just finding excuses for why FETCH PREVIOUS is not implemented in ORACLE. I have seen this grouse several times. If people need a FETCH PREVIOUS, why doesnt ORACLE Corp just implement it? Afterall it is implemented in SQL/FORMS. Right? Besides, people know that it is present in dBASE in the form of SKIP -n. For people who really NEED FETCH PREVIOUS, take a look at INFORMIX SQL.!! Emuleomo O O (emuleomo@accur8@uunet.uu.net)