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cmr
Starting Member
1 Post |
 Posted - 2008-09-15 : 13:20:52
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| I was given an db to clean up. One table in the db is EmploymentHistory and contains a BeginDate field that is text. Sometimes users enter a date such as 1/2/1995, sometimes 1/1995 and sometimes just 1985. There are also entries like “Spring 1996” or “1998 off and on”. We need to be able to sort on the BeginDate field.Is there a standard way to handle dates when users do not always know the exact date? Would breaking the BeginDate into 4 fields: Year, Month, Day and Notes be a good solution?. |
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visakh16
Very Important crosS Applying yaK Herder
52326 Posts |
Posted - 2008-09-15 : 13:32:05
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| its always better to use datetime for storing date values as it helps the manipulation of date values easier. but if format is unoknown and user can even enter textual values, then its better to use varchar field. But remember that this will really make manipulations complex. |
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
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jsmith8858
Dr. Cross Join
7423 Posts |
Posted - 2008-09-15 : 13:51:29
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| If you need to allow for the user to specify notes, then use a DateTime as mentioned, and just include an additional "Notes" column.- Jeffhttp://weblogs.sqlteam.com/JeffS |
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Date Fields when exact date is not known