Gary Krajci

Sequence numbers provide us with simple way to create and manipulate primary and foreign key values. They can be automatically generated as unique keys for your data and then used across multiple rows or tables. However, this can lead to problems such as table lock. A sequence-generating custom tag such as is described in this article can help minimize this problem. Use of the Autonumber Field How you cope with primary and foreign key values will depend on what database you use. Oracle users will recognize a sequence as a database object. Those who use other types of databases (e.g., Microsoft Access and SQL Server) as a data source for their Cold Fusion application may have other means at their disposal to generate primary and foreign key values. In Microsoft Access, for example, the user is permitted to define one AutoNumber field per database table, and in SQL Ser... (more)

JavaScript: From the Trenches

In his article It's your career: Take charge of it now!, Dan Shafer of CNET Builder.com stated: "Already know HTML pretty well? Then you need to recognize that to have a smart, highly interactive site in the future, you'll need to learn JavaScript. Not only is it essential if you want to use dynamic HTML (DHTML) for animating your site and spiffing up the interface, it's going to enable your pages to interact with server-side activity." The same thing could be stated as "Already know ColdFusion pretty well? Then you need to recognize that to have a smart, highly interactive site i... (more)

<CF_ConvertDate> -- A Custom Tag That Demonstrates Encapsulation

'Well, I'd hardly finished the first verse,' said the Hatter, 'when the Queen jumped up and bawled out, "He's murdering the time! Off with his head!"' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll  Encapsulation is not information hiding nor is it modularity. The word encapsulation can be used to describe either a process or an entity. As a process, encapsulation means the act of enclosing one or more items within a (physical or logical) container. Encapsulation, as an entity, refers to a package or an enclosure that holds (contains, encloses) one or more items. Programming ... (more)

JavaScript: From the Trenches

In this fourth installment of JavaScript Coding From the Trenches, we are going to discuss dates and calendars. The article addresses the pitfalls of using the JavaScript getYear and getFullYear methods, and the lastModified property; the correct method for determining whether a year is a leap year; and how to use this information to create a pop-up calendar to populate date fields on a form. [Gary's previous articles in the JavaScript Coding From the Trenches series were: JavaScript Vision, JavaScript Libraries Reviewed and JavaScript Browser Window Management.] A programmer c... (more)

JavaScript: From the Trenches:

In the continuing saga of JavaScript coding from the trenches (JavaScript Vision and JavaScript Libraries Reviewed), we are going to discuss the window management functions of JavaScript Vision. In this article, we'll first discuss writing "pure" JavaScript for opening a new browser window, then how to accomplish the same effect with JavaScript Vision, the organization of the JavaScript Vision Window Management functions, and we'll conclude with how to use the functionality provided by the JavaScript Vision Window Management functions. Before reading this article, if you do not... (more)