Most of what you desire has already been done in products called FileMaker (Apple Computer) and Access (Microsoft). It's been a while since I used Access, but FileMaker will automatically change all references to a field/column if you change the field name. It will warn you of broken references if you try to remove a field/column. I could probably be considered an expert in FileMaker, but I truly find it a frustrating experience to "develop" in it. I constantly run into limitations and have to create workarounds. Mainly because of the dynamic interface that does so much for you, but also hides so much from you.
Once MySQL gets stored procedures, you will be able to do a lot of what you are wishing for. You don't want to have your database schema exposed to client machines. Ideally, you would pass parameters to a stored procedure that would then execute the action, whether it be a query, insert, delete or whatever. Then everything is centralized. I for one would like to be able to choose my front end. PHP will probably soon have something similar to PERL DBI, which will help a lot for portability. While your suggestions and ideas would be a nice option, I wouldn't want to see the MySQL developers dedicating their resources to a front end. Just my 2 cents worth. > Am I missing something here that all other programmers > are using? Am I embarassing myself as some intermediate > programmer? -- Brent Baisley Systems Architect Landover Associates, Inc. Search & Advisory Services for Advanced Technology Environments p: 212.759.6400/800.759.0577 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
