>Hi All, > >Jim's PANDA post about public variables and the fact that I have spent some mentoring time lately compels me to write this list: > >
Don't use PUBLIC variables. They're hard to track down and not good design. Use object methods. This is Jim's mantra and a good one. >
Don't use Formsets. Formsets suck. Formsets are the black holes of VFP objects; hard to manage and impossible to escape once you've used them. >
Don't overload your Form.Refresh. Too much logic in Form.Refresh slows down an app considerably. Especially try to avoid requerying or SCAN type ops in Refresh. >
Use type and object prefixes! It's not that hard to get in the habit of and it makes your code a helluva lot readable. >
Forget SET FILTER. SET FILTER can slow down your app much worse than a parameterized view. >
Don't forget your SETs. Remember to set your SETS in the BeforeOpenTables event of a DataEnvironment when a form uses a Private Datasession. >
Parameterized views require parameters! If the parameter is a Form property, then the view will error on opening unless you've set NoDataOnLoad for the cursor to .T. You can requery in Form.Init to get the proper rows. >
All tables should have primary keys! All of them. No exceptions to this rule. None. Ever. For any reason. >
Avoid code repetition. If Apply and OK buttons both save code, then they should call a common method to save. >
Consistancy! Think long and hard about right-click and dbl-click behaviors for controls. Be prepared to explain why clicks act differently for different instances of the same control type. DOCUMENT those differences with ToolTips. > >There are doubtlessly a gazillion other no-no's.........
Gonz,
About the only thing I'll disagree with here is the title of the post.:-) These aren't only things to avoid, but some things to do as well. Of course, that's just the writer in me being a bit AR< g >.
One thing that I'd add is to program to the interface. Creating a consistent interface (actually API might be more appropriate here) programming and sticking to it, can provide enormous benefits.
