David,

> Although IBO is not to blame (because we weren't using it
> then, and the RDBMS wasn't InterBase), we have had a lot
> of trouble with databases or database components munging
> our spaces, and had to resort to wrapping ".AsString"
> calls with a kludge like "FixDBStr".

Do you mind describing the situation a bit more? This sounds
interesting thats all. I have come across so few instances where
spaces are truly significant that I am curious.

For example; I have used characters and codes (sort of like boolean
but with lots more options). However I always found it was more
practical to avoid spaces in such flag sets, not only to avoid string
mangling but also for visual feedback. And I dont just mean for the
user, but also for myself as the developer. I like to be able to SEE
when a field contains something (is not NULL) even when just browsing
the database and the best way of doing this was always to avoid
spaces.

Geoff Worboys
Telesis Computing