FreeTDS Development Group

["Lowden, James K" <LowdenJK AT bernstein.com>]

> From:  entropy AT freetds.org
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 12:42 PM
> 
> Thompson, Bill D (London) wrote:
> > I don't see why creating extra db-library functions should be  a bad
> > thing, if they fill functional deficiencies in the existing
dblibrary
> > API, and do not compromise the behaviour of the existing functions.
> 
> Namespace pollution, for one.  If you absolutely must have this 
> function, I would prefer that it be named _dbtablecolinfo() or even 
> _freetds_dbtablecolinfo().

There's more than one way to think about that.  I could call it "library
enhancement" just as easily.  After all, the function is meant to be
used.  It provides useful information not otherwise available.  

Anyone using db-lib has to contend with some 233 names beginning with
"db".  I don't see how making it 234, especially with an obscure name
like 'dbtablecolinfo', will cramp anyone's style.  

(I haven't looked at Bill's patch yet, and I'm not saying anything about
the goodness of this particular function.  I'm saying just that adding a
name isn't bad, a priori.)

But, we're a free-software project.  As of now, there is exactly one
dependency on this function among the FreeTDS applications.  Should it
come to light that we've created a problem for ourselves, someone will
tell us, and we can change it.  No harm done.  Meantime, our db-lib is
more, er, functional.  ;-)

--jkl

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