A nest within a nest and the multiple-query blues...

Question

Hi all:
Complex problem here, so bear with me please. I'm still
building this corporate database for purposes of inventory
tracking, and my latest problem follows. Here's the setup.
I have a MySQL database with 3 tables (there are actually
more, but those are the only ones that are relevent):
units_main' stores information about machinery such as its
model number and invoice number.
di_options_main' keeps track of what accessories are added
to a given unit through the use of a foreign key, in this case an
auto-generated integer called 'unit_id' which is primary in
units_main and secondary in this table.
valid_options stores the values such as manufacturer and
type for the accessories mentioned earlier, linked through the
common key of 'model_number'.
Now I have a searching engine which brings up a standard
results page (a regular table with a repeating recordset) of all
units matching the given search criteria. I want to be able to look
at this search results page and see not only the data retrieved
from the units_main table, but also some of the related data in
di_options_main. For instance, suppose I have an L3400 tractor with
an LA703 loader. The tractor is listed in units_main, while the
loader is found in di_options_main. I could create one recordset
for the main tractor data and one for the loader (option) data, but
this screws up the repeating recordset. Further, in this case, the
data needs to be retrieved from di_options_main based on the 'type'
field of valid_options - I only want to see accessories of the type
'LOADER'. This puts the query about three generations back. I might
still be able to code this if it weren't for the repeated region,
which can't be nested and throws a wrench in the works. I know this
is a difficult question, but I can post code for one or all the
files involved if it sounds like something someone can help me
with. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

What you need to do is join all the tables into a query in
the database,
then use this as a source for the recordset on the page. You
need to use
nestes repeat regions to display the detail information.
Depending upon the
server language you are using there are extensions that can
do this for you.
Paul Whitham
Certified Dreamweaver MX2004 Professional
Adobe Community Expert - Dreamweaver
Valleybiz Internet Design
www.valleybiz.net
"Ken Ha Quad" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all:
>
> Complex problem here, so bear with me please. I'm still
building this
> corporate database for purposes of inventory tracking,
and my latest
> problem
> follows. Here's the setup.
>
> I have a MySQL database with 3 tables (there are
actually more, but those
> are
> the only ones that are relevent):
>
> '
units_main' stores information about machinery such as its
model
> number and invoice number.
>
> '
di_options_main' keeps track of what accessories are added
to a
> given
> unit through the use of a foreign key, in this case an
auto-generated
> integer
> called 'unit_id' which is primary in units_main and
secondary in this
> table.
>
> '
valid_options stores the values such as manufacturer and
type for
> the
> accessories mentioned earlier, linked through the common
key of
> 'model_number'.
>
> Now I have a searching engine which brings up a standard
results page (a
> regular table with a repeating recordset) of all units
matching the given
> search criteria. I want to be able to look at this
search results page
> and see
> not only the data retrieved from the units_main table,
but also some of
> the
> related data in di_options_main. For instance, suppose I
have an L3400
> tractor
> with an LA703 loader. The tractor is listed in
units_main, while the
> loader is
> found in di_options_main. I could create one recordset
for the main
> tractor
> data and one for the loader (option) data, but this
screws up the
> repeating
> recordset. Further, in this case, the data needs to be
retrieved from
> di_options_main based on the 'type' field of
valid_options - I only want
> to see
> accessories of the type 'LOADER'. This puts the query
about three
> generations
> back. I might still be able to code this if it weren't
for the repeated
> region, which can't be nested and throws a wrench in the
works. I know
> this is
> a difficult question, but I can post code for one or all
the files
> involved if
> it sounds like something someone can help me with.
Thanks in advance.
>