Re: Interval data types and SQL Server

Brian,

> I have built an application using interval data type to hold things
> like the time between two events etc.... (as you might expect)
>
> I am now required to deploy that app on SQL server too... and I just
> discovered they have no interval data type... or at least it looks
> that way to me... (no sql server gurus available where I am).

Well, I am a SQL Server guru (or at least I can get people to pay me
unreasonable amounts of money on that presumption), so I'll tell you
flat out:  If your application has to handle scheduling, you're in
*big* trouble with MS SQL Server.

MS SQL Server does not support Interval, does not support date math,
and even its date/time data types are text-based and prone to errors.
 There are no easy workarounds ... it's like trying to code a
text-parsing application in Visual Basic; you can do it, you'll just
wish you'd learned Perl instead.

Basically, tell your boss that if you are doing a scheduling-heavy app
and it has to be ported to MS SQL Server, double your budget.

If the scheduling/interval parts are a minority of the application,
then maybe we can do something.  Is this SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server
7?

> Not sure how I am going to handle this yet... So I am looking for any
> sort of sage advise that you all might have for me at this point.

I could port it for you, but I'd have to charge you a small fortune.
 Does your employer have one to spend?  And you will have to re-do the
porting process, manually, every time you update the application.

If not, at least take a look at the porting advice at
http://techdocs.postgresql.org/

-Josh Berkus

P.S.  SQL Server does do *some* things well.  Just not very many.