Complex inter-calculated fields

[Fjordur]

Hey,
I'm sure some of you have tackled the following problem: I have a form that
displays data to produce a work contract. Now there are numerous, complex,
rules that govern this type of contract. Therefore a change in a field
induces cascading changes in other fields (no cycle, though), and
constraints to check. Some of the changes can be bypassed (ex.: a rule sets
a max value for the trial period but the user may input a shorter period).

I can develop a function for each field that computes its value and/or
checks its value, based on other fields. OTOH, the rules may change, and
there may be different set of rules depending on the country. Therefore I
would like to have the rules in data, not in code.

In a way this seems to call for a mini-, form-based, expert system.

What are the strategies you'd recommend?
Thanx

 

[Guest]

One way to do this is to put the validation rules as text fields in a table.
Then using VBA, you can retrieve the rule from the table and use the Eval
funtion to do the logic. This is over simplified, but hopefully it will give
you a nudge in the right direction.