command line vs gui 7012

Peter T. Breuer

Over the time, I've been building several web-based database query tools - all of them ment for "ordinary users", thus never really making it possible for the user to specify arbritrary SQL sentences.

(Actually, in the first project I made, the engine was built so that any arbritrary query could be built from the user input - but in reality the user was constrained by the way the form was built up. Normally, one would never allow web clients to be physically able to specify arbritrary SQL, but I left both authentication, access control and audit logging to the database)

Though, never thinking really hard about it, I have come to the conclution that you are completely right; any boolean expression can be rewritten to a well-formed, simple expression - thus it's theoretically possible to build a simple user interface actually constructing arbritrary queries by SQL. I think a good GUI would actually generate the SQL, and let the user see the query and eventually hand-edit it.

Of course, my query tools are not intended for experts, thus I have specific query pages with specific radio buttons input boxes check-boxes, and strong hinting that the users should contact me if they have more advanced queries. I get such queries fairly seldom.

-- This signature has been virus scanned, and is probably safe to read Tobias Brox, 68 plus 1¡42'N, 18¡57'E