One of CiviCRM’s strengths is the ability to add custom fields to hold specific information about your contacts. One thing it doesn’t offer (yet) is a calculated field type that will present the results of calculations of other fields. While calculated fields are generally discouraged in relational database design, they are sometimes necessary within a user interface. One suggested method is to add custom code hooks within CiviCRM’s PHP code but as a database guy, I decided on a back-end solution.
Importing Case Data into CiviCase
Migrating to CiviCase
On a recent project, I setup CiviCRM and CiviCase to enable a local organization to better manage its client database. The old database had been developed in Borland Paradox and was quickly becoming unusable. As a free and open source solution, CiviCRM turned out to be just the solution needed to accommodate this non-profit.
While CiviCRM itself does allow for the import of data through its API interface, I found that the contacts importer rejected a good portion of this data. The data had been entered by many volunteers into a database which did not impose many constraints on what data was required or how it could be entered. As with any case history, this data was essential to working with clients. With the volume of data involved, manual re-entry was not an option.
Fortunately, while CiviCRM’s data model is sophisticated, it’s relatively easy to decipher and I was eventually able to import the bulk of the data into CiviCase using a series of MySQL queries and MySQL Workbench.
MySQL User Defined Function Example: Data Cleanup
(Updated June 9, 2016)
The Challenge
One of my current projects involves migrating a large amount of data away from an old custom Borland Paradox application into a new CiviCRM system. As with too many quickly-constructed apps, this old Paradox database wasn’t especially well designed and, among other the other challenges in salvaging the data, there were no restrictions on how dates could be entered. This means that, in multiple fields within each of the 20,000+ database records, I might see any of the following:
03-14-96 5/20/1975 10/02/83 09051975 07.19.1995 19830211121500
While CiviCRM does have a utility for importing data from CSV and other SQL tables, it was having quite a time with this collection and many of the dates were being mishandled. That’s if the records weren’t rejected entirely for other reasons. Data migration doesn’t often happen with just a few settings adjustments and a click of the Import button.
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A Couple of Notes on Cloud Computing
Years ago, when I was making do with the limited computer equipment that I could afford, I never dreamed that I would one day be able to login to a website, plug in a few specs about the machine I wanted and then, a few minutes later, log into that machine remotely and run whatever programs I needed to. Yet, that’s exactly what today’s cloud computing resources enable me to do.
Coding Basics – Deceptively Simple Programming
In my last post on coding basics, I talked about turning an algorithm into code and used Euclid’s Algorithm as an example of programming a sequence of steps. There’s an even simpler type of algorithm that I want to look at this time.
A formula, such as the one for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius, is also a series of steps that must be performed in order to achieve the needed result. These calculations can be represented within C# or other programming languages to include the formula as part of a larger program.
If you’re doing a one-time conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius, you’re probably going to pull out your pocket calculator or find a good conversion website and enter the necessary numbers. You can do that because either of those resources has the necessary interface to get the necessary input from you. If you’re including this calculation in a program, you need to design your own interface, process that user input from it and return the result to the user in some way. In the case of the pocket calculator or website, other programmers pondered these issues at some point and now it’s your turn.
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From Algorithm to Code
In previous articles, I’ve talked about the importance of finding the right algorithm, or series of steps to follow, when coding a solution. Efficiency in terms of the amount of memory used and the amount of time taken by the operation are key factors for the program. Sometimes an appropriate algorithm is already available and in wide use and it’s just up to the programmer to turn it into code. There’s always the option of running to StackOverflow and grabbing some code but that does nothing to further your talent.
Installing MySQL on Mac OS X El Capitan
A few months ago, I wrote about how to install MySQL on Windows with IIS. Now I want to show you how to create an AMP web programming stack (Apache, MySQL & PHP) on Mac OS X. As with Windows, you could just go with a ready-made development environment like MAMP but, if you’re going to be doing real database and web design work with MySQL, it’s best to know how everything works.
Background
For this demonstration, I’m going to be using Mac OS X El Capitan (v.10.11), the latest version as of this writing. My installation environment is a hosted Mac server with 1 GB of RAM and 40 GB of disk space. I will be demonstrating the process using the Terminal commands.
Unlike Windows, OS X already includes the Apache web server and PHP language pre-installed so it’s a much simpler process to ensure that everything is working together. You will need root access in order to install and configure the components.
Splitting a Database in Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access is unique among all of the Microsoft Office applications in that it can be used to create entire applications that contain large storehouses of data, versatile data entry forms and sophisticated reports to present the data in a variety of ways. It also goes beyond other applications such as Microsoft Excel in that a single database is able to store and organize large amounts of data from different sources and on different subjects while enabling many users to easily find and work with that data as needed. While an Excel spreadsheet is excellent for analysis and can provide access to multiple users, Access takes it a few steps further and enables users to store and manage volumes of data and present it in many different ways based on the needs of the data users and the intended distribution.
Why Split a Database?
The multi-user environment provides its own challenges. Access is often used as an ad hoc development tool by people outside the I.T. department to design needed solutions that would otherwise have to be purchased for large amounts of money. These applications can end up being used by many people across a company and that means there can be many people accessing the same database file at the same time. If enough people are in the file at once, the performance of the application can degrade pretty quickly. Also, when one person has the database file open, the file is then read-only for anyone else who opens it which means that they will be unable to create or edit their own reports or database queries.
“Microsoft Access has stopped working” – fixing corrupt files
Summary Occasionally, when you’re making a lot of design changes to a Microsoft Access database, Access might start crashing when you’re working with that specific database file or when trying to enter the VBA environment with ALT-F11. This leaves you unable to investigate the issue or make further changes. It can be a sign that there are errors within the project’s…
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Adding Passswords to Microsoft Access Switchboard Options
The Switchboard Manager in Microsoft Access makes it easy to create a system of menus that will enable your users to navigate through your application. It also relieves you of the need to manage multiple menu forms and macro calls.
Sometimes, however, you might want to keep all but a few users out of specific areas, even if it’s just a password to discourage the curious. This is one thing the Switchboard Manager doesn’t offer and I’d like to show you one method for achieving this here. I want to stress that this method is not truly secure. On it’s own, it won’t prevent a user from hitting F11 and browsing through the database. A power user who wants to see those areas could defeat this method pretty quickly. It will keep the merely curious and inexperienced users out, however, and could be combined with other measures to add more security.
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