On replacing standard system error messages for relational database constraints with context aware natural language ones

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide a rigorous methodology for enhancing VBA software application users’ experience when faced with attempts to violate the underlying SQL Server database constraints. The original contribution is a pseudo-code algorithm for assisting developers in this process. We exemplify the results of using it with a full code example for a class taken from a genealogy database software application designed and developed using this methodology. Consequently, it replaces all context-independent and developer jargon standard system error messages with context aware and natural language ones. Moreover, it also synchronizes combo-box instances after each update or delete. We also show that the proposed algorithm works fine not only for other relational database management systems, but even with NoSQL platform backends, and that the modifications needed to adapt it to other similar SQL embedding frontend platforms are minimal. This algorithm main merit is that it may serve as the basis for developing a tool for performing this important task through automatic code generation.