Contents
|
Data
Architect
Professional database modeling |
Chapter 5
Using The Browser
About this chapter
This
chapter explains how to use the Data Architect dock-window browser .
About The Browser
The Browser is the most important dock-window. The Browser contains the
Workspace tab which has the Workspace and all of the Workspace objects
organized in a hierarchy. It also has the ODBC tab which allows the ODBC
sub-system to be browsed. The objects are represented by an icon, and a
name.
Workspace Browser
The workspace browser shows all the loaded workspace objects in a
hierarchy. The following is an example of a workspace browser;
The current workspace is called "tutorial" and below this there are two
logical models and a project folder. Notice that "cdmaftr" has objects
below it while "cdmbefor.LMModel" does not. This is because the 2nd
logical model has not been loaded. Documents are not automatically
loaded but projects are. The "MySQL" project was automatically loaded
when the workspace was loaded.
The workspace browser shows all objects for a loaded diagram/model
including the objects which are not drawn on the document itself - such
as business rules.
Many objects support special behaviour when <clicked>,
<right-clicked>, and <double-clicked>.
Object <clicked>
When an object in the browser is <clicked> it will try to bring
the object on the document into focus and select it. This makes the
browser handy for navigating the diagram/model and the document drawn
objects in particular. Nothing special occurs for objects not drawn on
the document.
Object <right-clicked>
Most object types have their own, context sensitive, popup menu. For
these objects <right-clicking> on the object in the browser will
invoke the popup menu to reveal important options. For example; the
popup menu is used to add a file to a project or to connect the project
to a database. The following shows the popup menu for a project object.
Object <double-clicked>
The most common thing to occur when an object is <double-clicked>
is for the objects property dialog to be invoked. For some objects
nothing special occurs. An important exception to this is document
objects. Document objects are not loaded automatically when the
workspace and projects are loaded. <double-clicking> an unloaded
document object will cause the document to be loaded.
Object Types
The following table lists just some of the many object types to be
found in the workspace browser;
Icon
|
Name
|
Comment
|
|
Workspace
|
A container. There will always
be exactly one of these in the workspace browser. Saved as a file with a
".DAWorkspace" extension.
|
|
Project
|
A container. Always in a "loaded"
state. Has the ability to connect to DSN. A red indicator means not connected
while green indicator means connected. <right-click> object and
use popup menu option to connect/disconnect. Saved as a file with a
".DAProject" extension. |
|
Folder
|
A simple folder. Created
automatically to help organize some objects.
|
|
Diagram
|
A document. Loaded when object
<double-clicked>. A simple, generic, free-form, diagram. Saved as
a file with a ".DDiagram" extension.
|
|
Logical Model
|
A document. Loaded when object
<double-clicked>. Saved as a file with a ".LMModel" extension.
|
|
Physical Model
|
A document. Loaded when object
<double-clicked>. |
|
SQL File
|
A document. Loaded when object
<double-clicked>. Saved as a file with a ".sql" extension. |
Creating Objects
The workspace browser can be used to create some new objects such as;
Workspace, Project, and any document object. This is done by invoking
the popup menu and selecting the desired option. For example; the
Workspace popup menu can be used to create a project object and the
popup menu for the project can be used to create a document.
|
Physical
Models and SQL Files should be created under a project object to enable
the features which require a database connection.
|
ODBC Browser
The ODBC browser provides a great way to browse the ODBC sub-system.
The top object is always "ODBC" while under it lie "Drivers", and Data
Source Names (DSN). The following shows the ODBC browser with a
connection to a database (test).
<right-clicking> on the ODBC or on
a DSN object reveals a popup menu. You can use these popup menus to
refresh the browser contents or connect to the database. A great wealth
of information can be provided about a DSN when a DSN is connected but
how well this works is largely dependent upon the capabilities of the
ODBC driver. Typically the schema can be browsed and a wide variety of
information about the driver and data source may be browsed under the
"Extended Info" tab.
Object Types
The following table lists just some of the many object types to be
found in the ODBC browser;
Icon
|
Name
|
Comment
|
|
ODBC |
Reperesents the entire ODBC
sub-system. <right-click> to invoke popup menu.
|
|
Drivers |
Lists all installed and
registered ODBC drivers.
|
|
System Data Sources |
Lists all System Data Source
Names. |
|
User Data Sources |
Lists all User Data Source
Names. |
|
Data Source |
A Data Source Name.
<right-click> to invoke popup menu with option to connect. Icon
changes when connected and many new objects are created. The new objects
reflect any schema information and "Exntended Info" retrieved from the
driver and/or connection. |
