Re: Re: [O] Why does a column's name need to start with a letter? Change
From:
frozenlock
Subject:
Re: Re: [O] Why does a column's name need to start with a letter? Changed source with no perceivable
Date:
Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:01:25 +0000
Yes, it's very well explained, thank you. I'll try to encode my names by removing any "-" and by adding a dummy letter at the beginning.
Is there another way of doing simple database in org-mode? By putting a component's name in a cell, I would like if the other columns could fill them-self with the component's characteristics.
(My apologies for the double e-mail, the first one wasn't sent to the mailing list)
On , Carsten Dominik <address@hidden> wrote: > Hi Christian, > > > > On 5.3.2011, at 04:35, Frozenlock wrote: > > > > > Greetings, > > > > > > First and foremost, I must say I'm a new Org-mode user... as well as a new emacs user... and have only limited experience with lisp. > > > > > > I'm using a table in org-mode as a database, from which I retrieve information as needed from other tables. > > > This database stores multiples components with names starting by numbers and with the character "-" in them. For example: "10K-AN-D8". > > > I want to be able to refer to its column with $10K-AN-D8. Yet, this is impossible at the moment. > > > > > > I've looked in org-table.el and found, at line 2038: > > > > > > (if (string-match "^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*$" name) > > > > > > which, once replaced by this: > > > > > > (if (string-match "^[-_a-zA-Z0-9]*$" name) > > > > > > Provides me with the ability to name (and refer) columns in any way I want. > > > > > > However, I'm reluctant to use this feature; surely there was a reason for this limitation. > > > Could someone point it out for me? > > > > This is limitation is present to disambiguate formulas. > > In you example $10K-AN-D8, D8 is already a field reference, > > so Org does not know if you mean $10K-AN - @8$4. > > Furthermore, you could easily arrive at variables like > > $10-AN-D8, and then what should the $10 mean? > > > > Of cause one could disambiguate heuristically by checking > > which names have been defined. In fact, name replacement > > happens first, and this is why your patch appears to > > work. But the side effect would be that introducing > > new names could change the interpretation of an > > existing equation. All this is unstable and > > unpredictable. > > > > Hope this makes it clear. > > > > - Carsten