When I started programming back in the late 70's (IBM 370, Fortran) the rule of thumb was "the user never knows what he wants and seldom knows what he needs, so, program accordingly" and my old favorite "you can't design a fool-proof system because fools are too smart." I guess the hurdles and pitfalls are also timeless....
Javier Valencia, PE President Valencia Technology Group, L.L.C. 14315 S. Twilight Ln., Suite #14 Olathe, KS 66062-4571 (913)829-0888 (913)649-2904 FAX -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of MikeB Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 12:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fw: 10 Commandments (Draft) Interesting. Looks like the hurdles and pitfalls are about the same no matter what the environment..... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Boer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Newsgroups: microsoft.public.access.formscoding Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 10:05 AM Subject: 10 Commandments (Draft) > The 10 Commandments of Access > > And it came to pass that the lamentations of the Access newbies was heard on > high by the gods of the Database, and their hearts were moved to pity for > their followers. And they opened their mouths and spake, saying: "Nevermore > shall the young and innocent wander witless in their journeys! We shall > provide guidance to them, yea, and to all who wish to seek the path of > wisdom." And they caused these commandments to be written and placed before > the eyes of those seeking enlightenment. > > So heed the words of those who have come before you, and keep these > commandments in thine heart as thou dost create your Database application. > If thou shalt only follow these commandments thy burden shall be made light > and thy path shall be made straight. > > > > 1.. Thou shalt design normalized tables, and understand thy fields and > relationships before you begin. > 2.. Thou shalt never allow thy users to see or edit tables directly, but > only through forms and thou shalt abhor the use of "Lookup Fields" which art > the creation of the Evil One. > 3.. Thou shalt choose a naming convention and abide by its wisdom and > never allow spaces in thy names. > 4.. Thou shalt write comments in your procedures and explain each > variable. > 5.. Thou shalt understand error handling and use it faithfully in all thy > procedures. > 6.. Thou shalt split thy databases. > 7.. Thou shalt not use Autonumber if the field is meant to have meaning > for your users. > 8.. Thou shalt not copy and paste other people's code without (at least > attempting to) understand what it does. > 9.. Thou shalt not use "SendKeys", "Smart Codes" or "GoTo" (unless the > GoTo is part of an OnError process) for these will lead you from the path of > righteousness. > 10.. Thou shalt back-up thy database faithfully, working not on thy > Production Database, but on the prototyping copy, as is right and good. > Thus spake the gods of the Database, and blessed be their names! And Blessed > too, are those who contribute to the Access Newsgroup - giving freely of > themselves to serve those who thirst for knowledge and understanding! > > Contributors: > > Andy > > Mike B. > > Marshall Barton > > Fred Boer > > Sandra Daigle > > Dirk Goldgar > > Kevin > > Eric L. > > Hugh O'Neill > > John Vinson > > > > > > So here's a proposed draft! Too silly? Stupid? Suggestions and comments are > more than welcome (I have no pride...)! I have added a list of contributors. > Please check that I have not missed anyone! If you wish to add your full > name, go ahead or if you don't want it there, remove it! > > I have tried to include as many suggestions as possible while keeping it > down to 10. > > I left out the following (please don't be mad!), with these rationales: > > Thou shalt set a meaningful tab order for forms. ( Setting tab order isn't > too hard to do after the fact.) > > Thou shalt assume that thine users are complete idiots and design the app > accordingly. (Well, undoubtedly true, but since the designers might also be > the users (I am!) I feel I might be judging myself a bit harshly!) > > Thou shalt understand and be able to justify all checked References. (I don' > t really understand this one..!) > > Fred Boer > > > ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/ ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/
