General (newbie) design question about fields naming and aliases

  • Thread starter Thread starter M. Simioni
  • Start date Start date
M

M. Simioni

Hi,
I'm using the Dataset Designer Tool to create datasets for my VB.NET
2005 application.

In my SQL Server tables I have odd field names, like "PWD_EXP" or
"SYS_NAME".

I have to show these fields to the user in a datagrid, so I have to
present them with another naming convention (like "Password
Expiration" and "System Name").

My question is very simple :
should i use aliases in my query, to "fix" the name directly in my SQL
query, so that even the Dataset and my business logic contains correct
names ("Password Expiration" instead of "PWD_EXP"), or should i leave
the name fields as they are, and then modify only the Header Captions
of my grids?

I know it's a very stupid question, but i'm always asking me what is
the best practice to do :)

Thank you i.a.,
best regards

Marco
 
Try using CamelCase for your names--avoiding imbedded spaces. I think you'll
discover that the DataGridView converts CamelCase columns like AuthorName to
"Author Name"...

--
____________________________________
William (Bill) Vaughn
Author, Mentor, Consultant
Microsoft MVP
INETA Speaker
www.betav.com/blog/billva
www.betav.com
Please reply only to the newsgroup so that others can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
__________________________________
Visit www.hitchhikerguides.net to get more information on my latest book:
Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server (7th Edition)
and Hitchhiker's Guide to SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (EBook)
 
Try using CamelCase for your names--avoiding imbedded spaces. I think you'll
discover that the DataGridView converts CamelCase columns like AuthorName to
"Author Name"...
Click to expand...
Ok, thank you.
And what about names like "PWD_EXP" that i have to present as
"PasswordExpiration" in the DataGridView? Should i "convert" them with
aliases directly in sql queries, or should i leave them as they are,
and then rename the Heading captions?
They seems to be stupid questions but i'd like to know what's the best
practice to simplify the life of who will work again at my code.
Thank you for your answers,
Marco
 
There are any number of approaches. I prefer to use stored procedures or
Views that expose the data in a standard (more easily consumed) way. Here
you can provide column aliases as needed. The book is full of "best
practice" suggestions--it was written to answer questions (like this) we've
seen on this and other aliases over the last decade.

--
____________________________________
William (Bill) Vaughn
Author, Mentor, Consultant
Microsoft MVP
INETA Speaker
www.betav.com/blog/billva
www.betav.com
Please reply only to the newsgroup so that others can benefit.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
__________________________________
Visit www.hitchhikerguides.net to get more information on my latest book:
Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server (7th Edition)
and Hitchhiker's Guide to SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (EBook)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I have done it a few ways.

Alias in query. Great for reporting types applications, as the data is only
one way. Not so good when returning to the server, as you have to match the
fields back.

Alias in DataSet. This requires a small bit of work, but helps with
roundtrip, esp. if you, or members of your team, are fond of drag and drop
coding.

Wait for .NET 3.5 (later this year) and use Object Spaces (or whatever it is
going to be called). You can play with the Orcas betas if you are an MSDN
subscriber.

Use another O/R Mapper.

--
Gregory A. Beamer
MVP; MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA
http://gregorybeamer.spaces.live.com

********************************************
Think outside the box!
********************************************
 
Back
Top