--- In ib-support@y..., Helen Borrie <helebor@t...> wrote:
> enough about SQL, at least in the Delphi world where I
work. "Queries? no
> worries! just do select * and it's almost as cosy as a TTable".

Yes, 'select *' implies display in a dbgrid, which implies editing in
the grid, which implies... TTable.

Speaking of dbgrids and transactions...

As someone who is building a first true CS database (not counting
Flashfiler and its TFFTables), what is the best approach for
minimizing the time that a transaction is left open?

Editing in a dbgrid seems like a bad idea in that a user might edit a
few records, scroll down, edit a few more, take a phone call, edit
some more, spend ten minutes finalising his lunch order... and 30
minutes later finally get around to hitting the COMMIT button.
Meanwhile some other poor sod is trying to update the same table and
getting a record lock. Is it a better idea to use grids for display
only and instead pop up a form for editing a record? What about
making the transaction 'envelope' smaller at the expense of broad
rollback by soft-committing when the user finishes with one record
and moves on to the next, instead of letting the user decide when to
commit?

Any design tips/thoughts here appreciated.

Regards,
Andrew Ferguson
-- Rectitudinous to a fault.