Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!sdcsvax!net1!graifer From: graifer@net1.ucsd.edu (Dan Graifer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: HyperCard Experts: Some Advice Please Message-ID: <4163@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> Date: Sat, 24-Oct-87 13:17:28 EST Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.4163 Posted: Sat Oct 24 13:17:28 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 26-Oct-87 02:07:30 EST References: <472@aucs.UUCP> Sender: Unknown@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU Reply-To: graifer@net1.UUCP (Dan Graifer) Distribution: na Organization: UCSD Network Operations Group Lines: 33 A couple of thoughts on database implementation questions for hypercard, especially as relates to converting an existing dBase application. 1. Entry validation can be done with the closeField message in the field's script: on closeField if then answer "error msg" with "Ok" click at location of the target end if end closeField 2. You probably want to do relational databases as one stack. Just put each separate file into a different background. Then navigating and extracting data doesn't cause endless stack open and closes. One to one links are just buttons that take you to the right background. You could even have the closeField message create the button script and linked card. 3. On the issue of "what kind of db application is HyperCard good for?" I suspect that you want to think "HyperCard" when the application tends to be a lookup single or few record type activity, rather than a "do some action on a 50% subset of the cards" kind of thing. Not that Hypercard wont do the latter, but it just doesn't seem to be as efficient at this kind of thing as traditional databases are. Eventually, I imagine we will be able to use HyperCard as a front end processor to other databases for answering questions like "how many of my 10000 employees took vacation last month". Dan Graifer graifer@net1.UCSD.EDU Disclaimer: Nobody ever listens to me anyways; Why should they start now?