# to use it you need to create a package named Tables
package Tables;

use strict qw(var subs);
use vars qw(@ISA $table %dates %enums $primarykey);

# after this you put the tables here like so
package <TABLE NAME IN ALL CAPS>;
@ISA = qw(BaseData);
$table = "<TABLE NAME IN ALL CAPS>";
$primarykey = "<PRIMARY KEY>";
%dates = (); # list fields with dates here
%enums = (); # list fields of type enum here

##</code><code>##

# I'll use the insert sub as an example
sub insert {
   my $class = shift;
   my ($table,$seq_query,$primary_key);
 
   # grab the variable defined from the derived class
   # this is hacky
   $table = ${$class . "::table"};
   $primary = ${$class . "::primarykey"};