Re: To Date or Not to Date... that is the question

["Gene Burns" <burns.gene@xxxxxxxxx>]

I prefer date fields.

Comparisons between two dates is much easier using date fields.  I create a
default date field (0001-01-01) that I use for comparisons to see if a date
has been set.  This is equivalent to the decimal "date" field being set to
*zero.

Gene


On Dec 13, 2007 1:54 PM, Mike <koldark@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I go back and forth on this internally and decided to ask the experts.
> Without starting another political battle (like that won't happen), when
> defining a date field, is it better to define it as a date or as a decimal
> 8?
>
> What I see is:
>
> Benefits to date:
> * SQL selections on date are simple
> * can easily use data BIFS
>
> Benefits to decimal 8:
> * Can have a "zero" date, a date typed field needs to be 0001-01-01
> * date BIFS a bit harder to use (but not much)
>
> What is your preference and why?
>
> --
> Mike Wills
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewills
> Blog - http://mikewills.name
> Podcasts - http://podcastmike.com
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