Lookup Tables - what is their purpose?

[Guest]

Hello -

I am wondering what the purpose of a lookup table is as opposed to just
using a dropdownlistbox that refers to a related table? I let the analyzer
work its wonders on a table that was not normalized to see what it would do.
It came up with a main table and three related tables. I then let the form
wizard create a form from the query the analyzer generated and it threw in
three comboboxes with three textboxes, one textbox underneath each combobox;
the object obviously being to click on the combobox and the clicked item
would fill the textbox beneath it.

Why wouldn't you just have three related tables and have them fill the three
comboboxes and have users select an item in the combobox to complete the
record? In other words, why the extra textboxes?

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Marshall Barton]

Hello -

I am wondering what the purpose of a lookup table is as opposed to just
using a dropdownlistbox that refers to a related table? I let the analyzer
work its wonders on a table that was not normalized to see what it would do.
It came up with a main table and three related tables. I then let the form
wizard create a form from the query the analyzer generated and it threw in
three comboboxes with three textboxes, one textbox underneath each combobox;
the object obviously being to click on the combobox and the clicked item
would fill the textbox beneath it.

Why wouldn't you just have three related tables and have them fill the three
comboboxes and have users select an item in the combobox to complete the
record? In other words, why the extra textboxes?

Generically, lookup tables are a good thing and are what you
are using when you use a combo box on a form.

However a lookup ***field*** in a table is good for nothing.

I have no idea why the wizard did what it did. If you set a
combo box's BoundColumn and ColumnWidths property
appropriately, you would not need the text boxes.