Nested Tables - "Not using Parent / Child"

[Sri]

Hello,

I am doing a project for my company..i have some problem in designing the
database... The structure looks like this...
Activity Table has columns like
Date,Country, Dept, Process1, Process2.....where process1..is itself an sub
table consisting of fields relating to process..
Process table has columns like
Process_name,Process_Owner,Process_Date.....

I want to design the database in such a way that Process table is nested
within Activity Table...but there is no exact relationship
existing....Process Table is just a placeholder inside Activity Table..

I tried to change the data type as table name..Access didn't allow me..

Is my logic correct or Is there any other way of doing this?

Your Urgent help on this would be highly appreciated..

Cheers

Sri

 

[Lynn Trapp]

If I understand you correctly, you need to create 2 tables (parent/child).

ActivityTable
ActivityID (PK)
Date
Country
Dept

ProcessTable
ProcessID (PK)
ActivityID (FK)
Process_name
Process_Owner
Process_Date

--
Lynn Trapp
MS Access MVP
www.ltcomputerdesigns.com
Access Security: www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/Security.htm
Jeff Conrad's Access Junkie List:
http://home.bendbroadband.com/conradsystems/accessjunkie.html

 

[Lynn Trapp]

Sri,
Let me add a bit more to my other comment. There is no way, in Access, to
embed a table inside a table. As you discovered, Access does not have a
Table datatype. Your only course is to use a Parent/Child table
relationship.

--
Lynn Trapp
MS Access MVP
www.ltcomputerdesigns.com
Access Security: www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/Security.htm
Jeff Conrad's Access Junkie List:
http://home.bendbroadband.com/conradsystems/accessjunkie.html

 

[Sri]

Thanks for your help...now in understand it better....Alas, Access does not
support Objects and its concepts.. is that right? we have to live with
linking the tables only....

 

[Lynn Trapp]

Thanks for your help...now in understand it better....Alas, Access does

not
support Objects and its concepts.. is that right?

That's right, so far as table data types are concerned.

--
Lynn Trapp
MS Access MVP
www.ltcomputerdesigns.com
Access Security: www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/Security.htm
Jeff Conrad's Access Junkie List:
http://home.bendbroadband.com/conradsystems/accessjunkie.html

 

[peregenem]

Thanks for your help...now in understand it better....Alas, Access does not
support Objects and its concepts.. is that right? we have to live with
linking the tables only....

Think of it as a limitation of the relational model rather than Access
per se. But also bear in mind that the relational model has been the
best way to model data for the last few decades now so perhaps your
'mental model' which does not fit. You may also want to research
'nested sets'.

 

[Tim Ferguson]

I want to design the database in such a way that Process table is nested
within Activity Table...but there is no exact relationship
existing....Process Table is just a placeholder inside Activity Table..

I am sure that this would make sense when cast into some formal kind of
analysis. There are Activities, and there are Processes, and they are
related in some way. There are presumably different TypesOfProcesses, and
maybe even BigProcesses and SelectProcesses and IncompleteProcesses
suitable for a subtyping model.

The thought of "embedding a table within a value" brings back all those
horrid 60's and 70's designs like network databases, where you had to know
the data before being able to write the access paths. The whole point of
SQL and R theory is that you are _guaranteed_ to be able to reach the
information you want armed only with the schema.

Best wishes


Tim F