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Atomic Context: Atomic Context: The Key to Flexible Sub Summary The Key to Flexible Sub Summary Reporting Reporting Jeremiah Small San Mateo Staff Meeting, Nov 28, 2007
Atomic Context:Atomic Context:The Key to Flexible Sub Summary ReportingThe Key to Flexible Sub Summary Reporting
Jeremiah Small
San Mateo Staff Meeting, Nov 28, 2007
Atomic?!
• (more later)• But first…
A Simple Example
A Simple Example
No, seriously.
It’s not as big a mess as it looks…
A Simple Example
Requirements:
1. Report on various tables (at least 3)
2. Extract totals from 2 date ranges– Actual range as defined by user– Same range in the previous year
3. Show the % change between ranges and the % of the total for each range
Report: Rep Sales Totals
Report: Products by Class
Report: Products by Class then Rep
Report: Business Types by Territory
Report: Locations by Type then Rep
Report: Locations by Rep
Report: Products by Location
Report: New Locations by Territory
An Example Solution
So what about atomic context?!
• Oxford American Dictionarya-tom-ic: of or forming a single irreducible unit or component in
a larger system.
• DisambiguationNOT used as in the same sense as an atomic operation in
computer science which refers to a set of operations that can be combined so that they appear to the rest of the system to be a single operation with only two possible outcomes: success or failure.
So have I been misleading you?
What is the atomic context here?
These all run from Invoice Line context
But how can that be?
1. We don’t see Invoice Line items in reports
2. We need to extract 2 date ranges– Actual range as defined by user
– Same range in the previous year
3. We need to compare values between ranges
1. No rule that you must display body
1. No rule that you must display body
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
2. Conditional atomic values
So conditional atomic values let us do this…
3. Doing math on Summary values
…but what about this?
3. Doing math on Summary values
3. Doing math on Summary values
3. Doing math on Summary values
What’s the catch?
The break field in a GetSummary function…
MUST BE LOCAL
3. Doing math on Summary values
3. Doing math on Summary values
The break field in a GetSummary function must be local?!
…bummer :-(
…but wait! Nobody said it can’t be a calc field!
The trick?
Bring all your break fields to the atomic context
as calc fields.
3. Doing math on Summary values
Bring all your break fields to the atomic context
as calc fields.
Bonus: You can add some logic to your break fields.
3. Doing math on Summary values
Note: You can sort by the same summary field
or a constant to get Grand Summary values.
3. Doing math on Summary values
GetSummary () with localized break fields lets us do this
$50,826.32 ÷ $1,546,456.07 = 3%
3. Doing math on Summary values
GetSummary () with localized break fields lets us do this
Let ( [
cur = GetSummary( _il_cur_AVG_price_sm ; _ct_RepName ) ;pre = GetSummary( _il_pre_AVG_price_sm ; _ct_RepName )
];
Case ( cur ≤ 0 ; "" ; pre ≤ 0 ; "" ; cur > pre ; ( cur / pre - 1) ; pre > cur; ( pre / cur - 1 ) * -1 ; 0)//endCase
)//endLet
3. Doing math on Summary values
GetSummary () with localized break fields lets us do this
($249,320.79 ÷ $50,826.32 -1 ) x -1 = -391%
…but it’s not just for FileMakerSub-summarize records on a Web page
First record
…but it’s not just for FileMakerSub-summarize records on a Web page
First group
PHP Sub SummaryDo one query, not seven
PHP Sub SummaryDo one query, not seven
PHP Sub SummaryDo one query, not seven
PHP Sub SummaryDo one query, not seven
PHP Sub SummaryRemember the break field for Sub Summaries?
PHP Sub SummaryRemember the break field for Sub Summaries?
PHP Sub SummaryWith records grouped by a break field, nested loops can print
them to the screen just like FileMaker sub summaries
PHP Sub SummarySub-summarize records on a Web page
1st groupFirst recordSecond recordThird recordSecond groupAnd so on…
Concept Review
• Atomic Context– The table that represents an irreducible unit or component in
the larger system.– If you find yourself considering complicated algorithms to
extract report data from child records, question your context.
• Sub Summary– A field (column) representing a de-normalized (non-unique)
attribute when treated as a group (break field) for all the records (rows) sharing that attribute.
– In FileMaker this is achieved by sorting.– In PHP this is achieved by appending records into
associative arrays named as the break field values.
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