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Create
your table structure
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You
are ready to begin creating the table or tables
upon which your database will be built. Here
are some tips you will
appreciate later in the
design process.
 Using
descriptive names
Alpha
Five and Access allow you to give tables and fields long names. Why be cryptic
when you can be descriptive about what you want users to put in a field? It's
best, however to avoid using spaces. Use the underscore _ instead.
Separating
data
Break
data apart into many fields for greater flexibility.
For example, by having separate First_Name, Last_Name
and Greeting fields, the same person can appear on
a report as Dyer, Laura, on a mailing label as Laura
Dyer and in a form letter, "Dear
Ms. Dyer:"
Anticipating
needs
Make your fields long
enough to hold the realistic maximum you expect to store there. For instance,
what is the longest company name you can think of? In Alpha Five, all fields
(except memos) use the space you allot them regardless of whether you fill
them with data, but disk space is cheap these days. Access does not store
unused spaces.
Using
numeric fields appropriately
Alpha Five and Access
have a separate type of field for numeric data as opposed to alphanumeric
(character) data. Generally, only amounts and values you might wish to
use in a calculation should be stored in numeric type fields. Phone number,
zip code and part number fields should be character fields.
Tracking
changes
Consider adding a "last
updated" field to keep track of when you've made changes to a record.
Testing
Test your table as you
go along. Enter 10 or 15 records that represent a cross-section of the
data you plan to use. A good exercise is to step through the processes
you have created from start to finish, scrutinizing the results as if your
business already depends on it. When testing for speed you should try to
work with the maxium number of records you expect to have. To add a lot
of test records, append the table to itself several times.
Backing
Up
Make backup copies of
your hard work! Backing up is easier when you've put your database files
in a separate folder (directory) instead of mixing them in with the program
files or sample data.
Proctor &
Peake, Inc.
9620 NE 2nd Avenue, Suite 209
Miami Shores, FL 33138
305-751-1181 / 1-800-943-6031
 e-mail
us
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