>>Terry,
>>
>>Why not use meta-data for something like this?
>
>Thanks,
>
>The only thing I know about meta-data is the little difinition I cross in researching a current project: "Meta-data is data about data."
>
>Wow! That says it all!
>
>I know the words but haven't the foggiest `bout the concept. If you have a link, a 'jingle' or a usuable explanation for a simple country boy, by all means, feed it to me. I need to get an "operative" definition burned into my noodle before someone throws it in the dog's bowl with the rest of the scraps!:-)

Terry,

I've been using meta-data for well over 15 years. Back then I developed a "shell". The shell had routines in it that virtually all applications used. There was a table of applications. When the user decided to switch applications, the system read from the applications table, and presented the user with a list box of them. This table had the default directory for the application, the application's file name, as well as, the display name.

Each application had its own set of meta-data tables. There was one for the indexes, that allowed the user to re-build the index from scratch. There was another for reports that contained information about the SQL statement that would generate the report.

How's that?