Re: Using LIKE to define records in 4GL

In article <4eqk0b$m0r@redstone.interpath.net>, mdl@interpath.com (Mike Lemon) wrote: >But, if the column(s) added are essential to the application anyway, >how are you helping yourself? You're assuming that every program that accesses a table wants/needs to know about every column in the table. I'd suggest that was wrong. The other significant problem with SELECT * is performance -- it takes more effort to retrieve the entire row rather than just the column required. Run your application over a network and you'll be very pleased you avoided the SELECT * / RECORD LIKE combo. The final reason I dislike SELECT * is that it makes my program analyser say stupid things - it has to assume that the program uses every column in the table, which is seldom true. ------------------------------------,------------------------------------------ Kerry Sainsbury, kerry@kcbbs.gen.nz | THE INFORMIX FAQ v2.4 Oct 95 Quanta Systems, Auckland | http://www.iiug.org/techinfo/faq/ New Zealand. Work: +64 9 377-4473 | ftp://ftp.iiug.org/pub/informix/faq Home: +64 9 279-3571 | ftp://kcbbs.gen.nz:/ftp/pub/informix/