[Gnumed-devel] Default values... use 'xxxDEFAULTxxx'

[Jim Busser]

Info on the default value of 'xxxDEFAULTxxx'has been added to the wiki 
"Developer reference" page
http://hherb.com/cgi-bin/twiki/view/Gnumed/DevelopmentReference

The proposed convention is a character string of length 13

Matters arising:

i) it had been stated that the earlier source code needed to be fixed 
(updated to accord with this convention) - I imagine this is either not 
easy to do acros all of the existing modukes and/or not of sufficient 
importance to warrant hunting it down.

If that is true -  is it simply for different people to each look after 
in the areas for which they are key, when they get around to it, and as 
they come across it?

ii) ... are there character fields (or fields of other type) which will 
be unable to hold a string of that length, yet which warrant some 
(other) default conventions

iii) ... there had been discussion of being able to record 
unambiguously a distinction between:
a)  "it has never been asked" = "no-one knows if it has been asked"
b)  "the question was asked but the patient doesn't know, and/or no 
collateral is believed to exist"

Would iii) be solved by using a NULL value for a) where, if a value is 
entered by mistake, the field value can be reverted to null or is the 
rule in PostgreSQL "once a value, always a value"

Any info or views / suggestions?