| Subject | Re: [ib-support] to change the decimal separator |
|---|---|
| Author | Adam |
| Post date | 2006-08-30T05:26:46Z |
--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, "aandea_launch" <alin@...> wrote:
represent negative numbers, etc are all about formatting a piece of
information into a notation that is familiar to the user reading it.
Database systems are given the job of storing and retrieving this
data, not necessarily the job of presenting the data. There are two
occasions where one could make a case for being able to customise the
'region settings' for Firebird. One is when you hand Firebird a string
that represents some data, be that a decimal number or a date.
Firebird overcomes this by providing you with parameters, a way of
sending data without having to agree on a notation for representing a
number. The only other place would be when the data is returned and
you wanted to format it, although that formatting is trivial with
client side formatting.
was not the decision of Firebird to get your third party plugins to
send a SQL string back, rather than a string and the parameters
separately. Another problem you must consider is SQL injection,
especially if you forget to escape the parameters provided.
Unless you redefine your interface (which is not going to be simple if
you have existing dependencies), your job is going to be more complex
- you will need to manipulate the string as it is passed, but there
will also be cases where the manipulation will be ambiguous.
Of course, Firebird is an open source project, and you are free to
make whatever modifications you choose, and also to contribute to the
project.
Adam
>Commas in numbers, ordering of days, months and years, symbols to
> Hello Alexandre,
>
> Do you know the resons of why Firebird Team decided not to make this
> feature ?
represent negative numbers, etc are all about formatting a piece of
information into a notation that is familiar to the user reading it.
Database systems are given the job of storing and retrieving this
data, not necessarily the job of presenting the data. There are two
occasions where one could make a case for being able to customise the
'region settings' for Firebird. One is when you hand Firebird a string
that represents some data, be that a decimal number or a date.
Firebird overcomes this by providing you with parameters, a way of
sending data without having to agree on a notation for representing a
number. The only other place would be when the data is returned and
you wanted to format it, although that formatting is trivial with
client side formatting.
> Most of the RDBMS systems out there have a way to specifyWho says each user wants the same settings?
> the "Decimal Separator" character and some of them are even aware of
> the locale.
>I certainly understand your predicament, but at the end of the day it
> Any information would be great in justifying Firebird's decision to
> my company's upper management.
was not the decision of Firebird to get your third party plugins to
send a SQL string back, rather than a string and the parameters
separately. Another problem you must consider is SQL injection,
especially if you forget to escape the parameters provided.
Unless you redefine your interface (which is not going to be simple if
you have existing dependencies), your job is going to be more complex
- you will need to manipulate the string as it is passed, but there
will also be cases where the manipulation will be ambiguous.
Of course, Firebird is an open source project, and you are free to
make whatever modifications you choose, and also to contribute to the
project.
Adam