Re: field size
- Posted by gwalters at sc.rr.com
Jul 27, 2001
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0017_01C11676.1E0FF9C0
charset="Windows-1252"
Well Gerardo, it's coffee time now (Colombian), 6:20 am and I'm back on =
it. Summer here, and we've had a very pleasant cool one so far. It's =
been in the upper 80's mostly... a few days in the lower 90's.... quite =
unusual. A couple of years ago it was 105 for a week....but that is =
unusual also.
The date thing could be handled with a date form switch, the phone by =
just a longer free form field and so could the state/province field. =
There are more serious issues of an accounting nature probably with =
payroll and the general ledger. For example our GL has all month's of =
the year open so you can go back and repair mistakes and redo =
financials, but in Venezuela once you close the month it's illegal to go =
back. (I consulted with a business there several years ago).
The OS I've been using (Theos... www.theos-software.com ) is =
international and has some presence in SA but mostly in Europe and Spain =
(www.theos.es) in particular. Spain does a lot of the development on the =
windows side. Theos has a client program that connects to a Theos server =
(tcp/ip connection written by AST in Spain), something like a smart =
terminal emulator. We can then have PC's for workstations and our =
software is point and click (on colored words) although it is not GUI. =
The basic problem that I and a lot of other dealers have is we can only =
take advantage of products in the theos environment, which is not a lot. =
Like myself, the dealers have a huge development effort to change since =
the basic they have is so complete and nothing similar or even close is =
available elsewhere.
So far I like EU, but it has some limitations that I would like to see =
improved. My (and Lucy's) programming style heavily uses =
select/case/cend...and EU being so structured i'm supprised that it =
doesen't have it.
select some.var
case 'a"
do something
case 'b'
do something
case 'c'
do something
otherwise
catch all here
cend .....or ala EU end select
I would also like to see variable names use periods...like =
'customer.name', 'customer.address' instead of customer_address. Not a =
big issue with this one just personal preference. And the 'goto label' =
issue... I'll have to sit this one out. It's the biggest road block in =
porting to EU to get something as a starting point to continue with and =
make complete redo's a piece at a time. And lastly as Irv points out a =
multiuser capability with a data base with record and file locking. I'm =
hoping that some of the contributions of others will solve this. I see =
that a 2.3 is on the way. I wonder what new things it will contain.=20
..george
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Gerardo=20
To: EUforum=20
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 1:04 AM
Subject: Re: field size
=20
Here we have one-letter provincial codes, but they aren't quite well =
known, so most apps will offer you the more familiar (read traditional, =
and longer) abbreviations, as in 'Bs.As.' for Buenos Aires, 'Cba.' for =
C=F3rdoba, and so on. Like the oldtime Mass. and Fla. and Ore. in the =
USA.
=20
The c=F3digos postales have recently changed from 4 to 8 chars (one =
letter, four numbers, three letters -looks quite British).
=20
Standard telephone numbers are eight chars long. Add two chars for =
cellphones, up to four for area codes, at least a couple more for some =
strange special combinations, and changing all the time. I'd assign no =
less than 20 chars.
=20
As in Derek's Australia, dates are always day/month/year (again, =
British influence). Watch out: Japan uses year/month/day! The hour is =
always based on the 24-hour clock. Coloquially, you will hear 'diez de =
la ma=F1ana' for 10 a.m., or 'nueve de la noche' for 9 p.m., but never =
in writing, never on a document -it's not just custom, it's the law.
=20
Quite a chore, I know. Not even stable, since such conventions change =
all the time. I'd try for a manually editable config file (for =
experienced users), or a simple interface to same, much like the =
'International' applet in Windows. Or don't American versions carry it?
=20
Gerardo
=20
=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: gwalters at sc.rr.com=20
To: EUforum=20
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 6:34 PM
Subject: Re: field size
Well Derick, it's beer time here in USA, SC (5:30pm). I'm about =
burned out at this point...Info is falling out my ears..
=20
..george
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Derek Parnell=20
To: EUforum=20
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: field size
When I saw your screen layout, I could see the same old problems =
that people in the USA make. The common thing for programmers =
(regardless of where they come from) is to make assumptions about =
certain data that don't hold up when the data is moved to different =
locales.=20
=20
For example, in Australia, State codes are 3-characters long, and =
ZIP codes (called postcodes here) are 4-chars long, and telephone =
numbers are 8-chars long, dates are written as DAY/MONTH/YEAR sequence, =
etc.....
=20
It might do you some good to ponder if these sort of =
locale-influenced data items need special treatment.
=20
Of course, there's the 'character codeset' problem too, and the =
how much screen space needed for different languages?
=20
Or send an email To: EUforum-unsubscribe at topica.com
This email was sent to: gwalters at sc.rr.com
------=_NextPart_000_0017_01C11676.1E0FF9C0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="Windows-1252"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.3105.105" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Well Gerardo, it's coffee time now (Colombian), 6:20 =
am and=20
I'm back on it. Summer here, and we've had a very pleasant cool one so =
far. It's=20
been in the upper 80's mostly... a few days in the lower 90's.... quite =
unusual.=20
A couple of years ago it was 105 for a week....but that is unusual=20
also.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>The date thing could be handled with a date form =
switch, the=20
phone by just a longer free form field and so could the state/province =
field.=20
There are more serious issues of an accounting nature probably with =
payroll and=20
the general ledger. For example our GL has all month's of the year open =
so you=20
can go back and repair mistakes and redo financials, but in Venezuela =
once you=20
close the month it's illegal to go back. (I consulted with a business =
there=20
several years ago).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>The OS I've been using (Theos... <A=20
href=3D"http://www.theos-software.com">www.theos-software.com</A> ) is=20
international and has some presence in SA but mostly in Europe and Spain =
(<A=20
href=3D"http://www.theos.es">www.theos.es</A>) in particular. Spain does =
a lot of=20
the development on the windows side. Theos has a client program that =
connects to=20
a Theos server (tcp/ip connection written by AST in Spain), something =
like a=20
smart terminal emulator. We can then have PC's for workstations and our =
software=20
is point and click (on colored words) although it is not GUI. The basic =
problem=20
that I and a lot of other dealers have is we can only take advantage of =
products=20
in the theos environment, which is not a lot. Like myself, the dealers =
have a=20
huge development effort to change since the basic they have is so =
complete and=20
nothing similar or even close is available elsewhere.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>So far I like EU, but it has some limitations that I =
would=20
like to see improved. My (and Lucy's) programming style heavily =
uses =20
select/case/cend...and EU being so structured i'm supprised that it =
doesen't have it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> select some.var</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> case =
'a"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> =
do=20
something</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> case =
'b'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> =
do=20
something</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> case =
'c'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> =
do=20
something</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> =
otherwise</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> =
catch=20
all here</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> cend .....or ala EU end =
select</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>I would also like to see variable names use =
periods...like=20
'customer.name', 'customer.address' instead of customer_address. Not a =
big issue=20
with this one just personal preference. And the 'goto label' issue... =
I'll have=20
to sit this one out. It's the biggest road block in porting to EU to get =
something as a starting point to continue with and make complete redo's =
a piece=20
at a time. And lastly as Irv points out a multiuser capability with a =
data base=20
with record and file locking. I'm hoping that some of the contributions =
of=20
others will solve this. I see that a 2.3 is on the way. I wonder what =
new things=20
it will contain. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>..george</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A href=3D"mailto:gebrandariz at YAHOO.COM" =
title=3Dgebrandariz at YAHOO.COM>Gerardo</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href=3D"mailto:EUforum at topica.com"=20
title=3DEUforum at topica.com>EUforum</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, July 27, 2001 =
1:04 AM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: field size</DIV>
<A =
coffee alone.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Here we have one-letter provincial =
codes, but=20
they aren't quite well known, so most apps will offer you the more =
familiar=20
(read traditional, and longer) abbreviations, as in 'Bs.As.' for =
Buenos Aires,=20
'Cba.' for C=F3rdoba, and so on. Like the oldtime Mass. and Fla. and =
Ore. in the=20
USA.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>The c=F3digos postales have recently =
changed from 4=20
to 8 chars (one letter, four numbers, three letters -looks quite=20
British).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Standard telephone numbers are eight =
chars long.=20
Add two chars for cellphones, up to four for area codes, at least a =
couple=20
more for some strange special combinations, and changing all the time. =
I'd assign no less than 20 chars.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>As in Derek's Australia, dates are =
always=20
day/month/year (again, British influence). Watch out: Japan uses=20
year/month/day! </FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>The hour is always =
based on the=20
24-hour clock. Coloquially, you will hear 'diez de la ma=F1ana' for 10 =
a.m., or=20
'nueve de la noche' for 9 p.m., but never in writing, never on a =
document=20
-it's not just custom, it's the law.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Quite a chore, I know. Not even =
stable, since=20
such conventions change all the time. I'd try for a manually editable =
config=20
file (for experienced users), or a simple interface to same, much like =
the=20
'International' applet in Windows. Or don't American versions carry=20
it?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Gerardo</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A href=3D"mailto:gwalters at sc.rr.com"=20
title=3Dgwalters at sc.rr.com>gwalters at sc.rr.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href=3D"mailto:EUforum at topica.com"=20
title=3DEUforum at topica.com>EUforum</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, July 26, 2001 =
6:34=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: field size</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Well Derick, it's beer time here in USA, SC =
(5:30pm). I'm=20
about burned out at this point...Info is falling out my =
ears..</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>..george</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- =
</DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A href=3D"mailto:ddparnell at bigpond.com" =
title=3Dddparnell at bigpond.com>Derek=20
Parnell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A=20
href=3D"mailto:EUforum at topica.com" =
title=3DEUforum at topica.com>EUforum</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, July 26, =
2001 4:51=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: field =
size</DIV><FONT=20
face=3DArial size=3D2>When I saw your screen layout, I could =
see the same=20
old problems that people in the USA make. The common thing for =
programmers=20
(regardless of where they come from) is to make assumptions about =
certain=20
data that don't hold up when the data is moved to different=20
locales.</FONT>=20
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>For example, in Australia, State =
codes are=20
3-characters long, and ZIP codes (called postcodes here) are =
4-chars long,=20
and telephone numbers are 8-chars long, dates are written as=20
DAY/MONTH/YEAR sequence, etc.....</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>It might do you some good to =
ponder if these=20
sort of locale-influenced data items need special =
treatment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Of course, there's the 'character =
codeset'=20
problem too, and the how much screen space needed for different=20
languages?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT><A FONT entered)< be to =
2chars allow=20
only would i state the><FONT=20
=
size=3D2></FONT> </DIV></A></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE><PRE>=3D=3D=3D=3D=
<A =
href=3D"http://topica.com/u/?b1dd66.${encoded_sub_id}">http://topica.com/=
u/?b1dd66.b2IexA</A>
Or send an email To: EUforum-unsubscribe at topica.com
This email was sent to: gwalters at sc.rr.com
<A =
------=_NextPart_000_0017_01C11676.1E0FF9C0--
|
Not Categorized, Please Help
|
|
