Database application development is a feature of JBuilder Professional and Enterprise. Distributed application development is a feature of JBuilder Enterprise.
The Database Application Developer's Guide provides information on using JBuilder's DataExpress database functionality to develop database applications. It also explains using dbSwing components to create a user interface (UI) for your application.
Basic features that are commonly included in a database application are explained by example so you can learn by doing. Conceptual information is provided, followed with examples as applicable, with cross-references to more detailed information wherever possible.
Be sure to check for documentation additions and updates at http://www.borland.com/techpubs/jbuilder. Also, check the JBuilder online help. The information in the online help is more up-to-date than the printed material.
If you have questions about creating database applications using JBuilder, visit the database newsgroup at news://forums.borland.com/borland.public.jbuilder.database. This newsgroup is dedicated to issues about writing database applications in JBuilder and is actively monitored by our support engineers as well as the JBuilder Development team. For discussions about dbSwing components, borland.public.jbuilder.dbSwing newsgroup is a good source for getting help creating database application UIs. A helpful DataExpress FAQ is currently located on the Borland Community Web site from http://community.borland.com/.
Most of the sample applications and tutorials described in this book use sample data that is stored in a JDataStore and is accessed through a JDBC driver. The JDataStore component provides a replacement for MemoryStore that provides a permanent storage of data. JDataStore can be treated like any SQL database - you can connect to it as you would to any server, run SQL queries against it, etc. For more information on JDataStore, see the JDataStore Developer's Guide.
For an explanation of documentation conventions, see "JBuilder documentation conventions."
For definitions of any unfamiliar Java terms, see "Java glossaries" in the Quick Start.
To create a database application in JBuilder, you need to:
Understand JBuilder's DataExpress architecture.
"Understanding JBuilder database applications" introduces the DataExpress architecture, describes JBuilder's set-oriented approach to handling data, and provides an overview of the main data components in the DataExpress package.
"Setting up JBuilder for database applications" provides the setup information required to step through and run the sample applications referenced in this manual. This includes JBuilder setup for access of sample data using JDataStore JDBC driver and JBuilder sample files.
"Connecting to a database" describes how to connect your database components to a server.
"Retrieving data from a data source" describes how to create a local copy of the data from your data source, and which DataExpress package components to use. This phase (called providing) makes the data available to your application.
For most applications, you will want to use a data module to hold the DataExpress package components. "Using data modules to simplify data access" describes how to use data modules to simplify data access in your applications, while at the same time standardizing database logic and business rules for all developers accessing the data.
"Working with columns" describes how to make columns persistent, how to control the appearance and editing of column data, how to obtain metadata information, how to add a column to a data set, and how to define the order of display of columns.
"Importing and exporting data from a text file" explains how to provide data to your application from a text file, and how to save the data back to a text file or to a SQL data source.
Decide how to store your data.
"Persisting and storing data in a JDataStore" discusses using JDataStore components for organizing an application's StorageDataSet's, files, and serialized JavaBeans/Objects states into a single, pure Java, portable, compact, high-performance, persistent storage mechanism. For information beyond the scope of this book, see the JDataStore Developer's Guide.
"Saving changes back to your data source" describes how to save the data updates made by your JBuilder application back to the data source (a process called resolving).
"Importing and exporting data from a text file" explains how to provide data to your application from a text file, and to save the data back to a text file or to a SQL data source.
These chapters describe features that enhance database applications, and how to use the features.
"Filtering, sorting, and locating data" explains the differences between these features, and provides a tutorial for each as well.
"Adding functionality to database applications" includes
"Creating a user interface" shows how to use dbSwing components to create a user interface for your application.
"Database administration tasks" includes such common database tasks as
To aid in your understanding of database applications, you may also wish to:
View a sample database application.
"Sample database application" consists of a complete sample database application that ties in individual features described in greater detail in the previous chapters. Run this application to see various DataExpress package database features in action.
"Creating a distributed database application" discusses using DataExpress components in a distributed object computing environment (using Java RMI).
For deploying database applications, you may wish to consider using:
Servlets are server-side versions of applets, or a server-side Java program that is initiated when certain HTML is encountered. This section describes how to create a servlet in JBuilder, provides a tutorial for practice, and provides links to sample servlets on other web sites. See "Developing servlets" in the Distributed Application Developer's Guide for more information.
JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology provides an easy and powerful way to build web pages with dynamically-generated content. JSP technology is created using HTML-like tags and scriptlets written in Java. Standard HTML or XML commands handle formatting and design. This section describes how to create a JavaServer Page in JBuilder, including a tutorial for practice. See "Creating, running, and deploying JavaServer Pages (JSP)" in the Distributed Application Developer's Guide for more information.
A document on the Borland web site contains questions and answers culled from the JBuilder database newsgroup. See the chapter "Database FAQ" for information on accessing both this document and the newsgroup.
Typeface | Meaning |
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Monospace type |
Monospaced type represents the following:
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Bold | Bold is used for java tools, bmj (Borland Make for Java), bcj (Borland Compiler for Java), and compiler options. For example: javac, bmj, -classpath. |
Italics | Italicized words are used for new terms being defined and for book titles. |
[ ] | Square brackets in text or syntax listings enclose optional items. Do not type the brackets. |
< > | Angle brackets in text or syntax listings indicate a variable string; type in a string appropriate for your code. Do not type the angle brackets. Angle brackets are also used for HTML tags. |
... | An ellipsis in syntax listing indicates code that is missing from the example. |
JBuilder is available on multiple platforms. See the table below for a description of platform and directory conventions used in the documentation.
Item | Meaning |
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Paths | All paths in the documentation are indicated with a forward slash (/). For the Windows platform, use a backslash (\). |
Home directory | The location of the home directory varies by platform.
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.jbuilder directory |
The .jbuilder directory, where JBuilder settings are stored, is located in the home directory.
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jbproject directory
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The jbproject directory, which contains project, class, and source files, is located in the home directory. JBuilder saves files to this default path. |
Screen shots | Screen shots reflect JBuilder's Metal Look & Feel on various platforms. |