| Alventis Database Overview |
Alventis Database is an information management
application. It has been designed to:
• Store information in a variety
of formats
• Enable you to easily locate stored information
• Retrieve, view, and edit said information
An Alventis UniGrid™ has 3 panes:
1. Tables Grid lists all accessible
tables of the databases you have added to this UniGrid. You can
add as many databases as you like to a UniGrid. Even databases
located on different servers.
2. The Search
Results pane has the Search Box where you enter a search
expression, and a grid that will display the results of the search.
3. The Preview pane will display
the focused Search Results record.
You may encounter two types of InfoViews™:
Detail InfoView forms will have
fields represented by individual Text Boxes, Memo Editors, Combo
Boxes, Radio Groups, Image Boxes, and so on.
Grid
InfoView forms will represent their
table using a grid.
Alventis Database memo implements all the usual
functionality of a regular word processor and much more. (Refer
to the Online
User's Guide to get a sense of all new powerful tools
that Alventis Memo has to offer.)
| Alventis Database SQL Queries |
Alventis Database supports queries using
a large subset of the ANSI SQL-92 language specification. Alventis
automatically creates a set of Default queries: one per data
table. Default queries may be used as source of Reports based
on their respective tables.
Alventis Database supports printing via the use
of Reports. Reports provide a means of arranging and
laying out collections of records, and sending thus merged result
into the Report Output. Alventis Reports support the
full array of Alventis's formatting tools, as well as sorting,
grouping, grid footer summaries, grid group summaries, report
and page header/footer, memo fields, picture fields, etc. (refer
to the Reports topic
in the Online
User's Guide for
more details).
| Alventis Database Rights Management |
Alventis Database supports a sophisticated multi-user
security model. Rights may be granted or denied based on groups
or objects. This model allows for full and specific privileges
definition (refer to the Security chapters
in the Online
User's Guide for more details).
| Designer FieldView and InfoView |
Alventis Database Designer is a second application
that is part of the Alventis Professional and Enterprise Suites.
Designer basically helps you accomplish two "simple" things:
• Create and manipulate data tables
• Create and manipulate associated InfoView forms
To place a field on an InfoView form, drag the
field you want to place onto the InfoView and drop it roughly
where you want it. That's all! You can also double-click the
field in the Fields grid – and it will be added to
the bottom of whatever may already be in the InfoView. You can
also place all fields of a table onto an InfoView in one shot
by dragging the table itself onto the InfoView.
| Designer InfoView Relationality |
Alventis Database and Designer support creation
of relationally-linked tables and InfoViews based on them. Two
distinct kinds of Relational InfoViews can be created:
| • |
Lookup
Relational InfoView.
This is the most obvious kind. Basically, we are basing the
InfoView almost entirely on one main table: all fields that
we place on the InfoView come from it. So, we end up with
a rather ordinary looking InfoView with a bunch of Text Boxes – plus
one new item for a Pointer field pointing to a record from
another table: the Lookup Combo Box (shown above).
|
| • |
Reverse Lookup Relational InfoView.
The fundamental idea is to base the InfoView mainly on the
pointed table, and for each pointed record display all the
main table records that point to it.
|
(Refer to the Relational
Database Design chapter in the Online
User's Guide for
more details).
If you've made it this far, you might as well
peruse the
User's Guide which has even more screenshots to feast your eyes
on.
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