Fetching column names from another table

Databases
1

I’ve inherited an Access database that has sort of cryptic column names. The reason (I think) is because the actual column names that get displayed on the web page are long, and have quotes and parens in them, so whoever built the thing abbreviated the column names by using the first letter of each word.

Anyway, since no one can remember which column is which, I added a table to the database that has a column for the names, and a column containing the descriptions, so whoever updates the thing can refer to that table to figure out which column is which.

Right now, the column names are hard-coded on the web page, but I’d rather fetch them out of the database. The problem is, I don’t know any way of joining a row in my table with a column name in the old table.

Any ideas?

2

why not create a view for the badly-named table? give each column a better name

SELECT sdurfgsd AS my_nice_name_for_column_1
     , ierjhwkc AS my_nice_name_for_column_2
     , netqsvyh AS my_nice_name_for_column_3
     , ...
  FROM daTable

save this query, and then you can use it instead of the table

3

Yep that would work. I was just shooting for a way to grab the column names out of the database, in case someday they decide to rename a column. The content owners have access to the database, but not the CF page. If the column names are stored in the db, they can change it anytime they want. If they’re on the CF page, they have to get a web guy to change them.