Topic group

dBASE Plus provides a Table wizard and Table designer to quickly create tables in any supported table format. Although a particular database application may provide the fullest support for its native format, you can conveniently lay out the basic structure of its tables in the dBASE Plus Table designer and view any table in Run mode.

All table access is handled through the Borland Database Engine (BDE) which includes drivers to support the following table and database formats.

BDE-standard (no other software or BDE alias required):

dBASE

Paradox

Other desktop database formats:

FoxPro 2.5

Microsoft Access 95/97

The software application must be installed and running, with aliases assigned in the BDE Administrator. Alternatively, BDE’s ODBC socket supports any ODBC database. For example, if Microsoft Access is not installed, you can connect to an Access database via ODBC. For details, see BDE Help (BDEADMIN.HLP).

SQL enterprise client/server database formats:

Oracle

Sybase

Informix

Microsoft SQL Server

IBM DB/2

InterBase

The database server system must be installed and running, with aliases assigned in the BDE Administrator.

A BDE alias is a short name used as a shortcut to a client/server database or to a directory containing database files. BDE aliases are required for Access, Foxpro, and all SQL client/server systems. You may also use BDE aliases for dBASE and Paradox tables for convenience or application portability, although it is not required.

To create SQL tables, you must first be able to access your SQL database.

Although you can create tables in any supported format, this section shows how to use the Table wizard and designer to quickly create tables in the dBASE Level 7 table format, which is the most feature-rich and convenient. Some of the dialog boxes and capabilities might not apply to a particular database you are using. Please see the documentation for your database for guidance on implementing tables in its native format.

Note

The terms "database" and "table" are often confused. A database consists of a set of files, including indexes, memo, and graphics files, and one or more tables that may be related by key fields. A table consists of an ordered set of rows (records), each row containing a set of defined data fields. The larger, client/server database management systems are considered more database-oriented. The smaller "desktop" database applications are sometimes said to be table-oriented, although when related tables and index files are stored in a directory, that directory may be considered a database.