How do you pull data from a connected Data Type (table)?

I can see what you did; however, I don’t understand the “why” for each step. Bubble tutorials and explanations rarely explain why. They teach by rote: Do this, then this, but infrequently explain why. Without understanding why, all I’m learning is a bunch of steps that I don’t understand and thus can’t deploy what I’ve learned outside of the very specific set of instructions that are directly linked to something else I learn by rote.

I’m really struggling to understand what each box in form are actually about.

For example, in the drop down for the “Type of choices” you put Car (data type) and in the next box down, Choices source you then Search for Cars. This seems redundant. I’m not understanding what each piece of information is doing. When would these be different values? What is the underlying logic. Without knowing this, I’m just memorizing (and often just guessing) exactly what I need to do. I have no background knowledge to know what exactly I need to do based on understanding what is needed and what each thing I will do actually does.

I’m saying this out loud in case someone has had the same frustration and came across comprehensive resources that do more than rote teaching but get into concepts. I’ve seen some, but it seems piecemeal."

This experience reminds me of when I was in the Army and college. In Army classes I struggled with following the instructions and was often at the bottom of class. In college I tended to be in the top of the class. College was more concepts, the Army was more do this then this. I honestly found it easier to learn Java than bubble.

Nonetheless, what you’ve created is helpful for me. Please keep it up for a little while. Thank you. :slight_smile:

It’s just a learning curve, I had no idea Bubble had actual first party videos until you mentioned it in another one of your posts last week. I started about 8 months ago and I would like to think I have some idea how to do certain things. I played around with it instead of watching videos

The reason it lets you pick them independently is because the first type is just telling it what data type you are looking for. The Choice source can be a search, it can be a list, it could be an API call, etc. You might not neccessarily want all colors from the dropdown. You might want Do a search for Colors:minus list Current User's hated colors So it’s a search except for the users colors they hate.

It could be Do a search for Car:each item's Color so you may be searching for Cars, but you’re actually getting a list of all Colors of all the cars.

Did you make an example of what you’re trying to do that you want me to take a look at?

It’s not redundant at all…

First you define the ‘Type’ of things you want the dropdown to show… (in the ‘Type of choices’)

Then you define which of those type of things you want to drop-down to show (in the Choices Source)…

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@adamhholmes

Aren’t I doing that by entering Search for in the second box? Doesn’t that start with naming the data type so why do it in the first input box?

Why not make the flow follow from what you start to enter in the second input box and get rid of the first one?

Maybe there is some dynamic interelationship with how the first constrains the second. If that’s the case I’d want to understand that to get the concept in play.

Or, maybe it should have been designed differently because it’s hard to understand because it’s a little complex. I just find it challenging to pin what I’m doing to understanding what’s going on. I find myself just learning by doing without deep comprehension. I literally know how to do things I don’t understand. That’s fine but it handicaps me ultimately. I’ll be less able to think through the best approach to solve a problem down the road.

I’m guessing design decisions are made to try to make it easier by taking out a need for a lot of upfront understanding to move forward. This results in a tradeoff. Maybe that’s the nature of no code.

@tylerboodman I will. Sorry. My moments on desktop have been limited.

I don’t think we really think that much about it. We just ask ourselves “what are we trying to show? Cars? Okay I will pick the Car data type” then pick the datasource of what cars to show.

But doing a search is only one way of defining a Thing (or list of Things), and besides, very often the Thing you search for is NOT the type of Thing you’re defining.

For example, Do a Search for Users: first item’s Company.

The Thing you’re defining is a Company (But your search was for Users)…

…so no, you aren’t defining the Type of data you want to use in the Search (assuming you’re even using a search at all)… they are two completely separate concepts…

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@adamhholmes Then why do I have to repeat Search for Car again. I’ve already specified that’s the table. I get that the second box is narrowing down what is within Car, but why do I need to tell it Car again?

I’m missing understanding something about bubble. I don’t know where to look to fill this gap. And I’m not slow. I found learning Java from a text book easier than learning bubble thus far.

A flow chart would help. In their manual, it seems using them would make sense, particularly on a platform that promotes “visual” learning. I’d love to see a flow chart showing where data is sitting at each point as it is further being processed (also noting at which level the processing is taking place).

data binding, my friend

Where/why are you repeating a search? (I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying?)…

I get that the second box is narrowing down what is within Car, but why do I need to tell it Car again?

Because in some cases (maybe even the majority of cases), as I and others have already pointed out, they are not the same thing…

Just because you’re doing a search for a particulate type of thing (or in some other way pointing to it), doesn’t mean that’s the Type of thing you’re setting as the content of the Group/element/dynamic content etc.

In your very specific case, that might be so (i.e. you’re setting a content type of Car, and defining the specific Car by doing a search for Cars)…

But you could be setting a content type of Car, and defining the Car by doing a search for Garages, then picking a car from a specific item of the Garage datatype…

Or just as often, not doing a search at all, but define the car by referring to some data already on the page (which may be a completely different datatype). e.g. Parent Group's Manufacturer (datatype = Manufacturer) then selected a car from that datatype.

Or, Current User’s (type User) Car.

There are many different DataSources, but you still always need to declare the content type of an Element/Group/RG/ first…

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@doug.burden I think your answer might be what’s getting me…If that’s the case, I still don’t see why they can’t program for that and have the UX the way it is.

You’re thinking about it too much. It’s not that different from hardcoding sql queries other than the heavy lifting is already done.

Just start playing around, getting familiar with it, and finish your chart you were making. You’re gonna kill it.

@doug.burden I can do that. But then I have swiss cheese knowledge (which seems to get you far on Bubble). This leaves me extremely concerned about data security. If I don’t understand data flow and how bubble is working, I could expose sensitive data and my entire app is compromised.

Is there anywhere I can go that gives me the why and shows data flow so I can learn bubble? The written support materials are somewhat superficial and the videos are mostly rote learning.

There’s privacy rules for that.

Have you done any academy lessons? You can try combing the docs. https://manual.bubble.io/

@doug.burden That’s just one of several possible downstream consequences of material gaps in my understanding and then moving forward because it just works.

@doug.burden I have. That’s the problem. Honestly learning Java from a textbook was easier. Everything was logical. And if you didn’t get a concept, you kept rereading the same thing until it sunk in. That’s not my experience with the manual. It’s trying to keep everything simple (it also seems anachronistic sometimes).

@doug.burden But where can I specifically read something that helps me understand data flow and processing along the way? It appears that is not available and would be incredibly helpful for not just me but everyone trying to learn bubble.

As far as working with data goes it seems to be the run-of-the-mil CRUD. With one exception, you have to bind the data to the element that’s going to return the data.