Relational database structure design advice - database

This is a textual description of data for which I need to create a database design (using SQLite) for an application.
The application needs to keep a record of operations. Each operation has a Name and its list of parameters. Each parameter has its Name and a Value. However, the values of the parameters will change over the lifetime of the app (in fact the user will be able to changes them using GUI) and we want to keep a history of the values which a certain parameter has had. Furthermore, each operation can have multiple parameter sets. A parameter set is like an envelope which encompasses a set of parameter values (which all belong to the same operation) and gives this envelope a unique Number and a non-unique Description.
This is what I have so-far:
[Database model image][1]
The database model should allow me to perform these actions on the database data:
Show a list of operations - I know how to do this.
Show a list of parameters for a given operation - I know how to do this.
For a given operation, show all its parameters as columns and show the values of the parameters as rows - each row represents a different parameter value from the history of values. I'm stuck at this one.
For a given operation, show a list of all parameter sets which belong to that operation. I'm stuck at this one too.
For a given operation and for a given parameter set, get the latest values of its parameters. Stuck at this.
I'm not sure if I should re-work my database model or if I should look for proper SQL statements to accomplish the tasks above with the model that I have. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
EDIT 1
I have re-worked my database model according to a helpful advice from #Marek Herman. Thanks to that I am able to accomplish tasks 1) 2) 4).
Now I'm trying to accomplish 5) which should not be that difficult with the current database model. I have this SQL statement:
SELECT Parameter.ParameterIdentifier, ParameterValue.ParameterValue,
ParameterValueVersion.VersionNumber, ParameterValueVersion.ChangedOn
FROM ParameterValueVersion INNER JOIN
(((Operation INNER JOIN Parameter ON Operation.OperationPLC_ID = Parameter.OperationPLC_ID)
INNER JOIN ParameterSet ON Operation.OperationPLC_ID = ParameterSet.OperationPLC_ID)
INNER JOIN ParameterValue ON (ParameterSet.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterSetID) AND
(Parameter.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterID)) ON ParameterValueVersion.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterValueVersionID
WHERE (Operation.OperationPLC_ID=[opID] AND
ParameterSet.ParameterSetNumber=[parSetNum]);
where [opID] and [parSetNum] are the input parameters. This SQL statement actually only joins all these tables together on their PK->FK relationship: Operation, Parameter, ParameterSet, ParameterValue, ParameterValueVersion and filters the rows by specified OperationPLC_ID and ParameterSetNumber.
Here is an example of an output of this SQL statement. Each row shows a name of a parameter, its value, a version number of the value and date of change of that value. Some parameters only have one value (only one version -e.g., "OFFSET"). Some parameters have two values. For example "PREFILLING" has a value of "3" which was input on Oct 20, 2016 (and has a version number 1) and it also has a value of "3.5" which was input on Oct 21, 2016 and has a version number of 2. So I'd like to show only the latest versions of the values of the parameters. Any advice how to modify the SQL statement is much appreciated. Thank you.
EDIT 2
I guess I figured out how to perform 5). I had to study a bit how GROUP BY works. This did the trick:
SELECT Parameter.ParameterIdentifier, last(ParameterValue.ParameterValue) AS ParameterValue, last(ParameterValueVersion.ChangedOn) AS ChangedOn, max(ParameterValueVersion.VersionNumber) AS VersionNumber
FROM ParameterValueVersion INNER JOIN
(((Operation INNER JOIN Parameter ON Operation.OperationPLC_ID = Parameter.OperationPLC_ID)
INNER JOIN ParameterSet ON Operation.OperationPLC_ID = ParameterSet.OperationPLC_ID)
INNER JOIN ParameterValue ON (ParameterSet.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterSetID) AND
(Parameter.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterID)) ON ParameterValueVersion.ID = ParameterValue.ParameterValueVersionID
WHERE (((Operation.OperationPLC_ID)=[opID]) AND ((ParameterSet.ParameterSetNumber)=[parSetNum]))
GROUP BY Parameter.ParameterIdentifier
ORDER BY Parameter.ParameterIdentifier
Now I still need to figure out how to perform task no. 3. I'm gonna study the suggested COALESCE function. Thank you.

0) I would connect ParameterSet to Operation and Parameter and not to ParameterValue.
1) okay!
2) okay!
3) I think you can use the COALESCE() function to display the columns and then it should be possible to show all parameters with matching OperationID
4) you can do that if you do point #0
5) same as above I think

Related

How to find a MoveTo destination filled by database?

I could need some help with a Anylogic Model.
Model (short): Manufacturing scenario with orders move in a individual route. The workplaces (WP) are dynamical created by simulation start. Their names, quantity and other parameters are stored in a database (excel Import). Also the orders are created according to an import. The Agent population "order" has a collection routing which contains the Workplaces it has to stop in the specific order.
Target: I want a moveTo block in main which finds the next destination of the agent order.
Problem and solution paths:
I set the destination Type to agent and in the Agent field I typed a function agent.getDestination(). This function is in order which returns the next entry of the collection WP destinationName = routing.get(i). With this I get a Datatype error (while run not compiling). I quess it's because the database does not save the entrys as WP Type but only String.
Is there a possiblity to create a collection with agents from an Excel?
After this I tried to use the same getDestination as String an so find via findFirst the WP matching the returned name and return it as WP. WP targetWP = findFirst(wps, w->w.name == destinationName);
Of corse wps (the population of Workplaces) couldn't be found.
How can I search the population?
Maybe with an Agentlink?
I think it is not that difficult but can't find an answer or a solution. As you can tell I'm a beginner... Hope the description is good an someone can help me or give me a hint :)
Thanks
Is there a possiblity to create a collection with agents from an Excel?
Not directly using the collection's properties and, as you've seen, you can't have database (DB) column types which are agent types.1
But this is relatively simple to do directly via Java code (and you can use the Insert Database Query wizard to construct the skeleton code for you).
After this I tried to use the same getDestination as String an so find via findFirst the WP matching the returned name and return it as WP
Yes, this is one approach. If your order details are in Excel/the database, they are presumably referring to workplaces via some String ID (which will be a parameter of the workplace agents you've created from a separate Excel worksheet/database table). You need to use the Java equals method to compare strings though, not == (which is for comparing numbers or whether two objects are the same object).
I want a moveTo block in main which finds the next destination of the agent order
So the general overall solution is
Create a population of Workplace agents (let's say called workplaces in Main) from the DB, each with a String parameter id or similar mapped from a DB column.
Create a population of Order agents (let's say called orders in Main) from the DB and then, in their on-startup action, set up their collection of workplace IDs (type ArrayList, element class String; let's say called workplaceIDsList) using data from another DB table.
Order probably also needs a working variable storing the next index in the list that it needs to go to (so let's say an int variable nextWorkplaceIndex which starts at 0).
Write a function in Main called getWorkplaceByID that has a single String argument id and returns a Workplace. This gets the workplace from the population that matches the ID; a one-line way similar to yours is findFirst(workplaces, w -> w.id.equals(id)).
The MoveTo block (which I presume is in Main) needs to move the Order to an agent defined by getWorkplaceByID(agent.workplaceIDsList.get(nextWorkplaceIndex++)). (The ++ bit increments the index after evaluating the expression so it is ready for the next workplace to go to.)
For populating the collection, you'd have two tables, something like the below (assuming using strings as IDs for workplaces and orders):
orders table: columns for parameters of your orders (including some String id column) other than the workplace-list. (Create one Order agent per row.)
order_workplaces table: columns order_id, sequence_num and workplace_id (so with multiple rows specifying the sequence of workplace IDs for an order ID).
In the On startup action of Order, set up the skeleton query code via the Insert Database Query wizard as below (where we want to loop through all rows for this order's ID and do something --- we'll change the skeleton code to add entries to the collection instead of just printing stuff via traceln like the skeleton code does).
Then we edit the skeleton code to look like the below. (Note we add an orderBy clause to the initial query so we ensure we get the rows in ascending sequence number order.)
List<Tuple> rows = selectFrom(order_workplaces)
.where(order_workplaces.order_id.eq(id))
.orderBy(order_workplaces.sequence_num.asc())
.list();
for (Tuple row : rows) {
workplaceIDsList.add(row.get(order_workplaces.workplace_id));
}
1 The AnyLogic database is a normal relational database --- HSQLDB in fact --- and databases only understand their own specific data types like VARCHAR, with AnyLogic and the libraries it uses translating these to Java types like String. In the user interface, AnyLogic makes it look like you set the column types as int, String, etc. but these are really the Java types that the columns' contents will ultimately be translated into.
AnyLogic does support columns which have option list types (and the special Code type column for columns containing executable Java code) but these are special cases using special logic under the covers to translate the column data (which is ultimately still a string of characters) into the appropriate option list instance or (for Code columns) into compiled-on-the-fly-and-then-executed Java).
Welcome to Stack Overflow :) To create a Population via Excel Import you have to create a method and call Code like this. You also need an empty Population.
int n = excelFile.getLastRowNum(YOUR_SHEET_NAME);
for(int i = FIRST_ROW; i <= n; i++){
String name = excelFile.getCellStringValue(YOUR_SHEET_NAME, i, 1);
double SEC_PARAMETER_TO_READ= excelFile.getCellNumericValue(YOUR_SHEET_NAME, i, 2);
WP workplace = add_wps(name, SEC_PARAMETER_TO_READ);
}
Now if you want to get a workplace by name, you have to create a method similar to your try.
Functionbody:
WP workplaceToFind = wps.findFirst(w -> w.name.equals(destinationName));
if(workplaceToFind != null){
//do what ever you want
}

MS Access, use query name as field default value

My department uses a software tool that can use a custom component library sourced from Tables or Queries in an MS Access database.
Table: Components
ID: AutoNumber
Type: String
Mfg: String
P/N: String
...
Query: Resistors
SELECT Components.*
FROM Components
WHERE Components.Type = "Resistors"
Query: Capacitors
SELECT Components.*
FROM Components
WHERE Components.Type = "Capacitors"
These queries work fine for SELECT. But when users add a row to the query, how can I ensure the correct value is saved to the Type field?
Edit #2:
Nope, can't be done. Sorry.
Edit #1:
As was pointed out, I may have misunderstood the question. It's not a wonky question after all, but perhaps an easy one?
If you're asking how to add records to your table while making sure that, for example, "the record shows up in a Resistors query if it's a Resistor", then it's a regular append query, that specifies Resisitors as your Type.
For example:
INSERT INTO Components ( ID, Type, Mfg )
SELECT 123, 'Resistors', 'Company XYZ'
If you've already tried that and are having problems, it could be because you are using a Reserved Word as a field name which, although it may work sometimes, can cause problems in unexpected ways.
Type is a word that Access, SQL and VBA all use for a specific purpose. It's the same idea as if you used SELECT and FROM as field or table names. (SELECT SELECT FROM FROM).
Here is a list of reserved words that should generally be avoided. (I realize it's labelled Access 2007 but the list is very similar, and it's surprisingly difficult to find an recent 'official' list for Excel VBA.)
Original Answer:
That's kind a a wonky way to do things. The point of databases is to organize in such a way as to prevent duplication of not only data, but queries and codes as well
I made up the programming rule for my own use "If you're doing anything more than once, you're doing it wrong." (That's not true in all cases but a general rule of thumb nonetheless.)
Are the only options "Resistors" and "Capacitors"? (...I hope you're not tracking the inventory of an electronics supply store...) If there are may options, that's even more reason to find an alternative method.
To answer your question, in the Query Design window, it is not possible to return the name of the open query.
Some alternative options:
As #Erik suggested, constrain to a control on a form. Perhaps have a drop-down or option buttons which the user can select the relevant type. Then your query would look like:
SELECT * FROM Components WHERE Type = 'Forms![YourFormName]![NameOfYourControl]'
In VBA, have the query refer to the value of a variable, foe example:
Dim TypeToDel as String
TypeToDel = "Resistor"
DoCmd.RunSQL "SELECT * FROM Components WHERE Type = '" & typeToDel'"
Not recommended, but you could have the user manually enter the criteria. If your query is like this:
SELECT * FROM Components WHERE Type = '[Enter the component type]'
...then each time the query is run, it will prompt:
Similarly, you could have the query prompt for an option, perhaps a single-digit or a code, and have the query choose the the appropriate criteria:
...and have an IF statement in the query criteria.
SELECT *
FROM Components
WHERE Type = IIf([Enter 1 for Resistors, 2 for Capacitors, 3 for sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads]=1,'Resistors',IIf([Enter 1 for Resistors, 2 for Capacitors, 3 for sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads]=2,'Capacitors','LaserSharks'));
Note that if you're going to have more than 2 options, you'll need to have the parameter box more than once, and they must be spelled identically.
Lastly, if you're still going to take the route of a separate query for each component type, as long as you're making separate queries anyway, why not just put a static value in each one (just like your example):
SELECT * FROM Components WHERE Type = 'Resistor'
There's another wonky answer here but that's just creating even more duplicate information (and more future mistakes).
Side note: Type is a reserved word in Access & VBA; you might be best to choose another. (I usually prefix with a related letter like cType.)
More Information:
Use parameters in queries, forms, and reports
Use parameters to ask for input when running a query
Microsoft Access Tips & Tricks: Parameter Queries
 • Frickin' Lasers

Determining Difference Between Items On-Hand and Items Required per Project in Access 2003

I'm usually a PHP programmer, but I'm currently working on a project in MS Access 2003 and I'm a complete VBA newbie. I'm trying to do something that I could easily do in PHP but I have no idea how to do it in Access. The facts are as follows:
Tables and relevant fields:
tblItems: item_id, on_hand
tblProjects: project_id
tblProjectItems: project_id, item_id
Goal: Determine which projects I could potentially do, given the items on-hand.
I need to find a way to compare each project's required items against the items on-hand to determine if there are any items missing. If not, add the project to the list of potential projects. In PHP I would compare an array of on-hand items with an array of project items required, using the array_diff function; if no difference, add project_id to an array of potential projects.
For example, if...
$arrItemsOnHand = 1,3,4,5,6,8,10,11,15
$arrProjects[1] = 1,10
$arrProjects[2] = 8,9,12
$arrProjects[3] = 7,13
$arrProjects[4] = 1,3
$arrProjects[5] = 2,14
$arrProjects[6] = 2,5,8,10,11,15
$arrProjects[7] = 2,4,5,6,8,10,11,15
...the result should be:
$arrPotentialProjects = 1,4
Is there any way to do this in Access?
Consider a single query to reach your goal: "Determine which projects I could potentially do, given the items on-hand."
SELECT
pi.project_id,
Count(pi.item_id) AS NumberOfItems,
Sum(IIf(i.on_hand='yes', 1, 0)) AS NumberOnHand
FROM
tblProjectItems AS pi
INNER JOIN tblItems AS i
ON pi.item_id = i.item_id
GROUP BY pi.project_id
HAVING Count(pi.item_id) = Sum(IIf(i.on_hand='yes', 1, 0));
That query computes the number of required items for each project and the number of those items which are on hand.
When those two numbers don't match, that means at least one of the required items for that project is not on hand.
So the HAVING clause excludes those rows from the query result set, leaving only rows where the two numbers match --- those are the projects for which all required items are on hand.
I realize my description was not great. (Sorry.) I think it should make more sense if you run the query both with and without the HAVING clause ... and then read the description again.
Anyhow, if that query gives you what you need, I don't think you need VBA array handling for this. And if you can use that query as your form's RecordSource or as the RowSource for a list or combo box, you may not need VBA at all.

SQL Query Notifications and GetDate()

I am currently working on a query that is registered for Query Notifications. In accordance w/ the rules of Notification Serivces, I can only use Deterministic functions in my queries set up for subscription. However, GetDate() (and almost any other means that I can think of) are non-deterministic. Whenever I pull my data, I would like to be able to limit the result set to only relevant records, which is determined by the current day.
Does anyone know of a work around that I could use that would allow me to use the current date to filter my results but not invalidate the query for query notifications?
Example Code:
SELECT fcDate as RecordDate, fcYear as FiscalYear, fcPeriod as FiscalPeriod, fcFiscalWeek as FiscalWeek, fcIsPeriodEndDate as IsPeriodEnd, fcPeriodWeek as WeekOfPeriod
FROM dbo.bFiscalCalendar
WHERE fcDate >= GetDate() -- This line invalidates the query for notification...
Other thoughts:
We have an application controls table in our database that we use to store application level settings. I had thought to write a small script that keeps a record up to date w/ teh current smalldatetime. However, my join to this table is failing for notificaiton as well and I am not sure why. I surmise that it has something to do w/ me specifitying a text type (the column name), which is frustrating.
Example Code 2:
SELECT fcDate as RecordDate, fcYear as FiscalYear, fcPeriod as FiscalPeriod, fcFiscalWeek as FiscalWeek, fcIsPeriodEndDate as IsPeriodEnd, fcPeriodWeek as WeekOfPeriod
FROM dbo.bFiscalCalendar
INNER JOIN dbo.xApplicationControls ON fcDate >= acValue AND acName = N'Cache_CurrentDate'
Does anyone have any suggestions?
EDIT: Here is a link on MSDN that gives the rules for Notification Services
As it turns out, I figured out the solution. Basically, I was invalidating my query attempts because I was casting a value as a DateTime which marks it as Non-Deterministic. Even though you don't specifically call out a cast but do something akin to:
RecordDate = 'date_string_value'
You still end up w/ a Date Cast. Hopefully this will help out someone else who hits this issue.
This link helped me quite a bit.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178091.aspx
A good way to bypass this is simply to create a view that just says "SELECT GetDate() AS Now", then use the view in your query.
EDIT : I see nothing about not using user-defined functions (which is what I've used the 'view today' bit in). So can you use a UDF in the query that points at the view?

Hitting the 2100 parameter limit (SQL Server) when using Contains()

from f in CUSTOMERS
where depts.Contains(f.DEPT_ID)
select f.NAME
depts is a list (IEnumerable<int>) of department ids
This query works fine until you pass a large list (say around 3000 dept ids) .. then I get this error:
The incoming tabular data stream (TDS) remote procedure call (RPC) protocol stream is incorrect. Too many parameters were provided in this RPC request. The maximum is 2100.
I changed my query to:
var dept_ids = string.Join(" ", depts.ToStringArray());
from f in CUSTOMERS
where dept_ids.IndexOf(Convert.ToString(f.DEPT_id)) != -1
select f.NAME
using IndexOf() fixed the error but made the query slow. Is there any other way to solve this? thanks so much.
My solution (Guids is a list of ids you would like to filter by):
List<MyTestEntity> result = new List<MyTestEntity>();
for(int i = 0; i < Math.Ceiling((double)Guids.Count / 2000); i++)
{
var nextGuids = Guids.Skip(i * 2000).Take(2000);
result.AddRange(db.Tests.Where(x => nextGuids.Contains(x.Id)));
}
this.DataContext = result;
Why not write the query in sql and attach your entity?
It's been awhile since I worked in Linq, but here goes:
IQuery q = Session.CreateQuery(#"
select *
from customerTable f
where f.DEPT_id in (" + string.Join(",", depts.ToStringArray()) + ")");
q.AttachEntity(CUSTOMER);
Of course, you will need to protect against injection, but that shouldn't be too hard.
You will want to check out the LINQKit project since within there somewhere is a technique for batching up such statements to solve this issue. I believe the idea is to use the PredicateBuilder to break the local collection into smaller chuncks but I haven't reviewed the solution in detail because I've instead been looking for a more natural way to handle this.
Unfortunately it appears from Microsoft's response to my suggestion to fix this behavior that there are no plans set to have this addressed for .NET Framework 4.0 or even subsequent service packs.
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=475984
UPDATE:
I've opened up some discussion regarding whether this was going to be fixed for LINQ to SQL or the ADO.NET Entity Framework on the MSDN forums. Please see these posts for more information regarding these topics and to see the temporary workaround that I've come up with using XML and a SQL UDF.
I had similar problem, and I got two ways to fix it.
Intersect method
join on IDs
To get values that are NOT in list, I used Except method OR left join.
Update
EntityFramework 6.2 runs the following query successfully:
var employeeIDs = Enumerable.Range(3, 5000);
var orders =
from order in Orders
where employeeIDs.Contains((int)order.EmployeeID)
select order;
Your post was from a while ago, but perhaps someone will benefit from this. Entity Framework does a lot of query caching, every time you send in a different parameter count, that gets added to the cache. Using a "Contains" call will cause SQL to generate a clause like "WHERE x IN (#p1, #p2.... #pn)", and bloat the EF cache.
Recently I looked for a new way to handle this, and I found that you can create an entire table of data as a parameter. Here's how to do it:
First, you'll need to create a custom table type, so run this in SQL Server (in my case I called the custom type "TableId"):
CREATE TYPE [dbo].[TableId] AS TABLE(
Id[int] PRIMARY KEY
)
Then, in C#, you can create a DataTable and load it into a structured parameter that matches the type. You can add as many data rows as you want:
DataTable dt = new DataTable();
dt.Columns.Add("id", typeof(int));
This is an arbitrary list of IDs to search on. You can make the list as large as you want:
dt.Rows.Add(24262);
dt.Rows.Add(24267);
dt.Rows.Add(24264);
Create an SqlParameter using the custom table type and your data table:
SqlParameter tableParameter = new SqlParameter("#id", SqlDbType.Structured);
tableParameter.TypeName = "dbo.TableId";
tableParameter.Value = dt;
Then you can call a bit of SQL from your context that joins your existing table to the values from your table parameter. This will give you all records that match your ID list:
var items = context.Dailies.FromSqlRaw<Dailies>("SELECT * FROM dbo.Dailies d INNER JOIN #id id ON d.Daily_ID = id.id", tableParameter).AsNoTracking().ToList();
You could always partition your list of depts into smaller sets before you pass them as parameters to the IN statement generated by Linq. See here:
Divide a large IEnumerable into smaller IEnumerable of a fix amount of item

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