Bug 139315 - Report Builder displays date field as number when query is executed by "run sql directly"
Summary: Report Builder displays date field as number when query is executed by "run s...
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Base (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
6.4.7.2 release
Hardware: All All
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Number-Format
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Reported: 2020-12-30 09:53 UTC by herman.viaene
Modified: 2024-11-01 22:19 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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Description herman.viaene 2020-12-30 09:53:26 UTC
Using embedded Firebird 3.0
Define a table EMP with columns
empid autovalue
name varchar
address varchar
startdate date
Now I want startdate to have as default value current_date. The way I prefer to do this, is to run the SQL command "alter table emp alter column startdate set default current_date. This works OK.
Now create a query where the condition for startdate is "> current_date - 365". To make it work, define the query as "run sql directly".
Now create a report on this query using the wizard, just a straight list of all the fields from the query. The startdate on running the report comes out as a number. Changing the report properties to refer to the query i.s.o. the sql statement the report wizard inserted, does not make a difference.
Create from the query a view, and run again the report wizard, this time on the view, and the startdate comes out as a date, which is the logical thing to be expected.
Thee report wizard should have done this properly based on the query.
Comment 1 Julien Nabet 2020-12-30 11:09:55 UTC
alter table emp alter column startdate set default current_date
or
alter table emp alter startdate set default current_date
doesn't work for me.

I got:
*ALTER TABLE EMP failed
*column STARTDATE does not exist in table/view EMP
caused by
'alter table EMP alter startdate set default current_date'

I double checked "STARTDATE" exists.
Comment 2 herman.viaene 2020-12-30 12:42:05 UTC
@ Julien
my fault, the table and column names should be quoted
alter table "EMP" alter "startdate" set default current_date'
Comment 3 herman.viaene 2020-12-30 12:44:23 UTC
fault again
alter table "EMP" alter column "startdate" set default current_date
Comment 4 Julien Nabet 2020-12-30 13:20:33 UTC
Ok it worked.

Now I'm trying to make the query and with SQL edit, this works:
SELECT * FROM "EMP" WHERE "startdate" > CURRENT_DATE
not this:
SELECT * FROM "EMP" WHERE "startdate" > CURRENT_DATE - 365
or even this:
SELECT * FROM "EMP" WHERE "startdate" > (CURRENT_DATE - 365)
I got syntax error without precision.
Comment 5 Alex Thurgood 2020-12-30 15:12:16 UTC
Testing with 

Version: 7.0.3.1
Build ID: d7547858d014d4cf69878db179d326fc3483e082
CPU threads: 8; OS: Mac OS X 10.16; UI render: default; VCL: osx
Locale: fr-FR (fr_FR.UTF-8); Langue IHM : fr-FR
Calc: threaded

on macOS Apple Silicon M1, I get an error message when attempting to execute the query :

Syntax error in SQL expression

The query runs just fine as a query and produces the correct results.
Comment 6 Alex Thurgood 2020-12-30 15:13:21 UTC
(In reply to Alex Thurgood from comment #5)
> Testing with 
> 
> Version: 7.0.3.1
> Build ID: d7547858d014d4cf69878db179d326fc3483e082
> CPU threads: 8; OS: Mac OS X 10.16; UI render: default; VCL: osx
> Locale: fr-FR (fr_FR.UTF-8); Langue IHM : fr-FR
> Calc: threaded
> 
> on macOS Apple Silicon M1, I get an error message when attempting to execute
> the query :

I meant execute the report based on the query.
Comment 7 Alex Thurgood 2020-12-30 15:31:07 UTC
How do you create a view on which to base your report ?

The "create view" option only works from the Tables menu, however, I don't seem to be able to get it to do the simple subtraction in the way you describe via the GUI, as I get SQL token errors, or SQL incorrect date formatting errors when defining the criteria of the view in the GUI and then attempting to move out of that GUI cell.

Does the view have to be defined via Tools > Options > SQL ?
Comment 8 Robert Großkopf 2020-12-30 18:48:31 UTC
The default value has nothing to do with this behavior.
The query could only be executed by direct SQL, because the GUI doesn't know what to do with '- 365'. Remember: DATEADD (and this is a part of it) isn't known in the old internal HSQLDB.

So the Report Builder doesn't know how to handle with this query. You also have to set the report builder to 
Analyze SQL → No
for executing a query, which doesn't work with the Query GUI.

This query will work:
SELECT * FROM "EMP" WHERE WHERE "startdate" > CAST( CURRENT_DATE AS DATE ) - 365

I don't know why, but the GUI will accept this and it will also work together with report builder and format the date directly as a date.

One hint: Report Builder will better work with views. He could analyze the SQL, all grouping and sorting will work. The view looks for the report like a table with clear defined types for every field.
Comment 9 herman.viaene 2020-12-31 08:52:06 UTC
@ Julien and Alex.
To run this query as I wrote it, you have to set "Run SQL directly", then there will be no error and the SQL will givve the correct result.
Making a view from the query is done by right-click on the query name in the database overview and picking the proper option (I cann't give you the exact English name since I am running in Dutch).
@ Robert
Setting the "Analyze -No" does not impact the missing formatting of the date field.
Comment 10 Robert Großkopf 2020-12-31 09:47:02 UTC
@ herman
If it is set to 
Analyze SQL → No
it doesn't analyze the type of the field also. The content of the field are numbers - so it will be shown as numbers. '0' → '1899-12-30'.

If it is set to
Analyze SQL → Yes
it analyzes the code and detects a data. So it will show a date.

But your code works only with Analyze SQL → No.

I won't call it a bug of the Report Builder. You could change the code so it could work with Analyze SQL → Yes (and in the query with the GUI, not 'run SQL directly') and it works well.
Comment 11 herman.viaene 2020-12-31 10:48:03 UTC
Giving an overview of what I see, taking into account that I use the query as I stated it: no casting, running sql directly, which in itself works OK.
Generating the report with the wizard:
1. when based on this view, the report has the select command in the data properties and "Analyze - yes": not running, syntax fault.
2. in the existing report now, just change "Analyze - no": report runs, but displays the date field as a number, which is just plain wrong.
3. in the existing report now, change the data properties of the report to refer to the query: the report runs and the Analyze setting does not matter (yes or no): the report runs , but displays the date field as a number.
4. Use the query to make a view, rerun the report wizard now based on the view and run the report without any other intervention: it runs and the date field is displayed as a date, no intervention necessary. And that is the behavior I expect in the pt 2. and 3.
I can live with the fact that - due to a problem between Base and Firebird - pt 1 fails, but I cannot accept the date field is formatted the wrong way in pt. 2 and 3.
Comment 12 Robert Großkopf 2020-12-31 14:34:26 UTC
If you change in the report 
Analyze → Yes
the whole report won't start here when creating the connection to the report by the wizard, because the wizard reads the SQL-code from the query here.
The report would only start when I connect it directly (not by wizard) to the query.

Then I mark the field, set the properties to date for the field and all will work fine here. So I can't confirm a bug.

If it couldn't be changed by formatting of the field in the report please add an example as attachment here.
Comment 13 herman.viaene 2020-12-31 14:44:51 UTC
I do not agree there is no bug. The table field is defined as date, the query does not do any casting, so there is no reason why the report wizard should make a number field of it.
That I can change the format of the report field is not a solution, it is a workaround, but it shouldn't be necessary in the first place.