[Zope3-dev] Re: [Zope-DB] Relational Databases in Zope 2 and Zope 3

Smith, Neil (Worcester) Neil.Smith at npower.com
Tue Jun 29 04:22:14 EDT 2004


The point of the dtml-sqlgroup and dtml-sqltest is surely to provide a nice
way of handling the case where you don't pass in the parameter, so it
doesn't render the WHERE, AND, = etc.  And it does this quite well.

If you remove it, then you'll need either an exponential number of SQL
methods and some logic before it to decide which to call, or you'll have to
fill the SQL method with even more confusing dtml-if statements, or you'll
have to have your SQL something like:

WHERE (
   <dtml-sqlvar parameter_1 type=..> is null or 
   column_1 = <dtml-sqlvar parameter_1 type=..>
) and (
   <dtml-sqlvar parameter_2 type=..> is null or 
   column_2 = <dtml-sqlvar parameter_2 type=..>
)

which again seems more confusing, (and in fact doesn't work if a parameter
is a number rather than a string).

-- 
Neil


-----Original Message-----
From: Charlie Clark [mailto:charlie at egenix.com]
Sent: 29 June 2004 08:21
To: Luciano Ramalho
Cc: zope-db list; zope3-dev at zope.org
Subject: Re: [Zope3-dev] Re: [Zope-DB] Relational Databases in Zope 2
and Zope 3



On 2004-06-28 at 16:47:51 [+0200], Luciano Ramalho <ramalho at hiper.com.br> 
wrote:
> On Monday 28 June 2004 09:12, Charlie Clark wrote:
> > Will definitely want to drop <dtml-sqlgroup>, <dtml-sqltest> and such
like
> > as these do not encourage good SQL programming.
> 
> How is it that <dtml-sqlgroup> and <dtml-sqltest> do not encourage good
SQL
> programming?
> 
> From my experience these commands allow developers to save countless hours
> creating very error-prone and hard-to-debug procedures for assembling SQL.
> <dtml-sqlgroup> and <dtml-sqltest> on the other hand change this
procedural
> chore to high level "declarative"-like programming.
> 
> I can't see how this is bad, but I am always eager to learn and if anyone 
> can
> point me to articles explaining why these very useful commands should be
> dropped, I will look deeper into it.

Well, judging by the traffic on the Zope-DB list since I've been on it 
opinions on this are divided but I think the majority of those in the 
relational world are *strongly* against <dtml-sqltest> and <dtml-sqlgroup>. 
They do not add functionality as they replicate SQL and introduce obscurity 
as a result. While SQL has lots of problems it is important that those using

it really understand what they are writing *and* reading. If you have to be 
able to understand the resultant rendered SQL you should by definition be 
able to write it in the first place. And then there is the issue of 
maintenance - other people might have to read your code!

That said - it is obvious some people will want to keep <dtml-sql> because 
they are comfortable, happy and productive with it. So ZSQL methods will
grow 
some options to suit coding style.

There remains the issue of it would be nice to have some way of controlling 
SQL statements so that code reuse in the sense of string reuse is possible, 
ie. mixing in conditions or joins when appropriate. A TALES/METAL approach
to 
this seems to me complimentary to current SQL but this discussion is only 
just beginning.

Charlie
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