Reading URLyBird data file

[Daniel Breitner]

Hello everybody,

Until now when I am opening the data file of the URLyBird I was reading everything (every byte) from the data file and initializing my configuration with it. Example:

Reading the record length, reading the names of the headers etc etc.

What I want to ask is:

Is it ok to switch to an approach where I assume that the values given in the desciprion for URLyBird are correct ?

So for example that the HotelName fields is always 64 ? And that the length of the headerfield "name" is always 4 and it is found at the first position a.s.o. ?

Would it be ok to desclare final statics with these values ?


daniel

[Carlos Morillo]

Hi Daniel,


Currently I am doing the same, but I also have the same concern.

I think at the end, from the Object Oriented Design point of view you would want to make the Room and Data class as loosely coupled as possible, so you can make the Room
class reusable if at a later day, you have to switch your Data class implementation from a Data File (where you are forced to deal and manipulate all the Schema details)
to a RDBMS (MySQL, Oracle, etc.).

In the Andrew Monkhouse book, in the DVD class the equivalent of the Hotel Room in URLyBird, all the fields length are declared as static final constants, even though
in the Denny's DVD example from the book you don't have to deal reading a Schema.

I think the catch in URLyBird is that the data file format has to be preserved because it is also used by a legacy application to generate reports.

I think it is OK to have all the static final constants declared, as long as you justify it in your choices.txt.


HTH,



Carlos.

[Roel De Nijs]

Hi Daniel and Carlos,

I read my database schema dynamically, so didn't use constants to declare field length etc. The only static I declared was the expected value of the magic cookie. My good buddy Roberto Perillo declared the necessary information in static final constants. We both justified in choices.txt and passed. So no need to worry, it is certainly a valid approach.

Kind regards,
Roel

[Roberto Perillo]

Well, I myself...

Roel De Nijs wrote:My good buddy Roberto Perillo declared the necessary information in static final constants.

Oh, there you go!

[Cory Max]

I also put mine in static file constants. I documented my decision and reasoning in my choices.txt and also validated the file header against my constants as the data class starts up.

Not sure if this is necessary, but figured it was important that if my program assumes a certain data structure and the data structure describes itself, its a good idea to compare them.

[Roel De Nijs]

Cory Max wrote:the data structure describes itself, its a good idea to compare them.

If you read data structure to compare values, why not just read it dynamically and make your program more solid, because able to handle changes in data structure without any code modification (like a column getting bigger) and your Data class can also be used to handle a file with customers (having complete other data structure)?

Kind regards,
Roel

[Cory Max]

My only problem with doing that is the boolean flag for deleted. If the file describes itself as having more bytes describing that boolean value, how do I convert it to a boolean?

For now it is easy because I just use the

isDeleted = database.readBoolean();

[Roberto Perillo]

Howdy, Cory!

Please take a look here. I think it might be helpful!