Thanks everyone, you have given me some ideas. Jonathan
Steve Edberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > Well, as far as the inches and fractions thereof go, you could always > normalize your data to the smallest measurement - for example: if the > smallest increment is 1/32 of an inch, store all measurements in terms of > 32nds. So, 1" => 32, 1-5/32" => 37, and so on. Then you could store the > values in an integer column. Or, use a NUMERIC column (stored as strings, > so there is no roundoff error as there is with floating-point numbers) and > convert to metric: 1-5/32" = 29.36875mm exactly. Convert measurements > to/from english as needed for input or display. If you will be dealing with > metric measurements in the near future, that might be a more reasonable way > to go. > > Lastly, if you covert to metric and want to use a floating point column, read > > http://www.mysql.com/doc/P/r/Problems_with_float.html > > first. > > If I were me, and the site wasn't dealing in many metric tools, I'd > probably use the first method. > > > At 07:43 PM 12/12/01 , Jonathan Duncan wrote: > >I am creating a database for a website that sells tools. Unfortunately they > >aren't measured in metric. Most of the measurements look something like: > > > >1 1/16" > >3/8" > >3/16" > >1 5/32" > >45º > >10º > >2 7/16" > > > >These aren't pretty numbers to enter into a database. The simple way would > >be to enter them as CHAR's and forget about them, but then searching on that > >could cause problems. > > > >Does anyone have any idea what would be the best way to enter these number > >and as what type? > > > >Thanks in advance, > >Jonathan Duncan > > > +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ > | Steve Edberg [EMAIL PROTECTED] | > | Database/Programming/SysAdmin (530)754-9127 | > | University of California, Davis http://pgfsun.ucdavis.edu/ | > +---------------------- Gort, Klaatu barada nikto! ----------------------+ > > -- Jonathan Duncan nacnud.com administrator Nacnud, Inc. ________________________________________________________________ Brought to you by nacnudMail using TWIG. http://www.nacnud.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
