On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 9:27 PM, Don Baccus <dhog...@pacifier.com> wrote: > Just go away until you 1) understand the SQL standard and 2) Oracle.
Don! I am not the author of a database driver which cannot distinguish the empty string and NULL, a driver for a database which can make the distinction. That is you. When dealing with pure SQL I prefer a model which does not allow NULL. However, you must realize that the interface which we are talking about, which includes bind variables, deals also with a functional interface. This is where Oracle and PostgreSQL differ very significantly. Oracle allows default values whereas pg does not. PG also allows overloading, but Oracle does not. (or maybe it does, but I've never used it) So the problem of creating a generic interface to Oracle and PG presents complications far beyond handling NULL. I prefer Oracle because for any given problem it offers more tools to construct an optimal solution, but I am willing to work with PG for less demanding applications. But the application should not be defined in terms of the capabilities of any particular programming language. That is the basic problem with arguing that Tcl cannot represent NULLs. The real question is can Tcl code reflect the full semantics of a particular interface. Handling NULLs is easier than handling the so-called object-relational interface. Whatever, tom jackson -- AOLserver - http://www.aolserver.com/ To Remove yourself from this list, simply send an email to <lists...@listserv.aol.com> with the body of "SIGNOFF AOLSERVER" in the email message. You can leave the Subject: field of your email blank.
