[Qgis-developer] updating vector attribute tables

[Carson Farmer]

Hello list,

Does anyone know of a way to force a vector layer to reload it's 
attribute table? For example, say I used some outside application to 
update a field in the .dbf or a shapefile, can I get the associated 
vector layer in QGIS to reflect these changes programatically?

On a related note, is there any plans in the near future to make it 
possible to add fields to vector layer attribute tables (specifically 
shapefile attribute tables)? (I'm sure this has been asked before, but I 
haven't been able to find an answer...?)

Cheers,

Carson