Note that there is a clear break in the UX of the REST API if we allow pass empty strings to Oracle(due to the conversion to NULL). Oracle treats "" as NULL but this is incorrect in the REST/JSON world.
If a user enters an empty string "" they will expect to get "" back, which will not happen with Oracles default behaviour. Therefore in order to keep consistency of the REST API I dont see an alternative other than having space as the default value. We can get rid of the space when returning by simply trimming the String so we don't need to have any special filtering logic. On 10 January 2017 at 10:34, Akalanka Pagoda Arachchi <[email protected]> wrote: > +1 to keep default as NULL instead of a space. > > Having a space will require adding trimming logic to the underlying code > and methods like 'isNullOrEmpty' will bypass this string if there's a space. > > Thanks, > Akalanka. > > On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 10:23 AM, Lahiru Cooray <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 7:54 AM, Isuru Haththotuwa <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 5:19 PM, Uvindra Dias Jayasinha <[email protected] >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> Setting a default value for empty fields being sent seems to be best. >>>> >>>> Furthermore we can have default values set in our DTO objects in case a >>>> given field is omitted altogether. >>>> >>>> So handling both the above scenarios can overcome the limitation in >>>> Oracle. >>>> >>>> But I dont know if this is good for the REST API user experience, when >>>> retrieving data that contains these default values. >>>> >>> Additionally this could affect the user experience in UIs as well. >>> >>> How about we just keep a default value to NULL in DB level and then >>> filter it from UI? Since anyway Oracle treats zero length String as NULLs, >>> even if the user enters an empty String it will then be automatically. The >>> rest API will still return the default value if invoked directly though. >>> >> >> +1 to keep default as NULL which is more natural >> Further rather than filtering in the UI, how about directly do it in the >> query itself using COALESCE() built-in function (which is an ANSI standard >> and better performing than IS NULL) >> >> eg: SELECT COALESCE(field_name,'') as field_name //if the field value >> is null it will map to empty >> >> >> >>>> On 6 January 2017 at 15:28, Tharindu Dharmarathna <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 3:26 PM, Tharindu Dharmarathna < >>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi All, >>>>>> >>>>>> I faced $Subject in Oracle database while running integration test on >>>>>> C5 on top. >>>>>> >>>>>> *Observation* >>>>>> >>>>>> when insert empty string ("") it was save as null in database. >>>>>> >>>>>> While going through SO I had found [1] , which did happen in oracle >>>>>> database. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> We have come up with several ways to handle empty strings which user >>>>>> sends through the rest api. >>>>>> >>>>>> 1. Validate the request and send error when giving empty strings >>>>>> 2. Set default value like "N/A" into the fields which send as empty. >>>>>> >>>>>> Is there any other way to handle this problem ?. >>>>>> >>>>>> [1] - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13278773/null-vs-empty- >>>>>> string-in-oracle >>>>>> >>>>>> Thanks >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> *Tharindu Dharmarathna*Software Engineer >>>>>> WSO2 Inc.; http://wso2.com >>>>>> lean.enterprise.middleware >>>>>> >>>>>> mobile: *+94779109091 <+94%2077%20910%209091>* >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> *Tharindu Dharmarathna*Software Engineer >>>>> WSO2 Inc.; http://wso2.com >>>>> lean.enterprise.middleware >>>>> >>>>> mobile: *+94779109091 <+94%2077%20910%209091>* >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Regards, >>>> Uvindra >>>> >>>> Mobile: 777733962 >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Thanks and Regards, >>> >>> Isuru H. >>> +94 716 358 048 <+94%2071%20635%208048>* <http://wso2.com/>* >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Dev mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://wso2.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dev >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> *Lahiru Cooray* >> Software Engineer >> WSO2, Inc.;http://wso2.com/ >> lean.enterprise.middleware >> >> Mobile: +94 715 654154 <+94%2071%20565%204154> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Dev mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://wso2.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dev >> >> > > > -- > *Darshana Akalanka Pagoda Arachchi,* > *Senior Software Engineer, WSO2* > *+94777118016 <+94%2077%20711%208016>* > > _______________________________________________ > Dev mailing list > [email protected] > http://wso2.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dev > > -- Regards, Uvindra Mobile: 777733962
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