RE: Date *HIVAL was Urgent!!! NULLS & ZEROS

[John P Carr <jpcarr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 >> Nothing wrong with numeric dates.

>Well there's one very obvious problem.  There's no way to ensure that you
won't
>get an invalid date stored in your database if you are using numerics.  For
>instance 00/00/00 <grin>  (Jon)

Ah, well ... 
There is another reason to use dates.   Users.    It's not our data, people.

The users should be able to do date math on the data themselves using
query400
and other query tools.   Providing numeric dates to the users in THEIR files
is 
supporting the view of the ivory tower type IS department.   

Was the phrase "Let them eat cake" or was it "Let them use numerics" ?

Just because you can do gymnasitics in RPG to turn Numerics into Dates
doesn't  justify  forcing the users to have to do the same BS in their
querys.

I think most users who are accessing (say) shipping files would like to 
subtract *Current from the future ship date to find number of days till 
the due date themselves.   Instead of begging IS for the same stupid report.

All talk of Numeric dates is just self-justification on the part of the IS
person
not to do what they know in their heart to be right.

Data......    It don't belong just to IS no more!!!  This ain't 1985 no
more.

Rant(*off)

John Carr


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