Last week I put together a small module that allows the administrator to add/edit users. One of the fields carried over from the old database was called 'Inactive'. Typically, this would have a boolean type; however, we work with what we get sometime and this was an integer field. No problem. In order to present a checkbox on the new form, I decided to change the field in the database from Int to Bit (SQL Server 2000). All was well. The new form bound beautifully.
Then, Monday came. Various access came to a screeching halt in some of our older programs. These were relying on the 'Inactive' field to be an integer. Whoops. I quickly reverted the database back to its original form. Now, how was I going to resolve this one?
Easy!! I made a custom property in the business object. Then I bound my checkbox to this new property. What a piece of cake!! No need to touch the database after all. No need to go back to any legacy code and make scary modifications. Thanks IdeaBlade! Marvelous product!!