Newsgroups: comp.databases
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!hellgate.utah.edu!peruvian.utah.edu!knechod
From: knechod%peruvian.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Kevin Nechodom)
Subject: Bizarre Database Reporting
Date: 13 May 91 16:29:36 MDT
Message-ID: <1991May13.162936.14729@hellgate.utah.edu>
Summary: How to do a Freeform Report of Missing (Null) Data
Keywords: Null Values, Reports
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept

Here is a question that I have used to harass the database companies
that bring in their "Wonderful World of Our Database" shows.  This is just
a base case; any response to this question will quite likely inspire a flurry
of counter-questions.  Anyway...

Imagine that you have a single table of many columns (>500) and many rows
(>5000).  Let's allow _any_ of those rows to be null (with the exception of
the key variable).

I would like to write a report that returns all cases where the data is
missing.  Since I am allowing for many columns, it can't be simply a columnar
report.  I envision this report to look like:

    ---------------------------
    | Key Value | Column Name |
    |-------------------------|
    | Key 1     | Field 1     |
    | Key 1     | Field 2     |
    | ...       | ...         |
    | Key 1     | Field xxx   |
    | Key 2     | Field nn    |
    | ...       | ...         |
    ---------------------------

Is there _anything_ in the database universe that does something like this?
Where is it?  Who does it? etc.  

I think this would be of great interest, so I'll summarize any response and
post it here.

Thanks in advance.

Kevin Nechodom
University of Utah
CSSRD/STACC
nechodom@cc.utah.edu
Disclaimers assume that I know what I'm talking about, don't they?