HP 3000 Manuals

TurboIMAGE/XL Database Management System Reference Manual

How to Use TurboIMAGE/XL 

The following steps summarize how to use TurboIMAGE/XL. Refer to Figure
1-1  for an illustration of each of the steps.

   1.  Design the Database. 
       A database designer (system analyst) or team of designers
       determine what data is required by all the application projects
       that will share the database.  They determine which data should be
       protected from unauthorized access and how the data will be used.
       These design considerations and others described in appendix C
       determine the database content and structure.

   2.  Describe the Database. 
       After the design is complete, it is described using the
       TurboIMAGE/XL Database Definition Language (DDL). This external
       definition is called a schema.  The database creator processes the
       schema using the TurboIMAGE/XL Schema Processor which creates an
       internal definition of the database called a root file.  The
       person who creates the root file is identified as the database 
       creator and can subsequently create and initialize the database.
       Chapter 3 contains the description language syntax and operating
       instructions for the Schema Processor.

   3.  Create the Database Files. 
       DBUTIL, a TurboIMAGE/XL utility program, builds the database files
       according to requirements of the database structure specified in
       the root file.  The files contain no data initially.

   4.  Store and Retrieve the Data. 
       TurboIMAGE/XL provides a set of library procedures that can be
       called from BBASIC, C, COBOL II, FORTRAN 77, Pascal, or TRANSACT/V
       language application programs.  The database can also be used with
       RPG programs but the Report Program Generator issues the calls to
       TurboIMAGE/XL procedures.

       The application project members can design and write programs in
       the programming language which best suits their needs and call the
       TurboIMAGE/XL procedures to store, modify, retrieve, and delete
       data.  These procedures rapidly locate the data, maintain pointer
       information, manage the allocated file space, and return status
       information about the activity requested.  Each procedure is
       described in detail in chapter 5, and examples of calling several
       procedures from the different languages are given in chapter 6.

   5.  Maintain the Database. 
       The TurboIMAGE/XL utility programs can be used to maintain backup
       copies of the database and perform other utility functions such as
       logging, recovering, or restructuring the database.  These
       programs are described in chapters 7 and 8.  You can also use the
       TurboIMAGE/XL procedures to write your own maintenance programs,
       or you can acquire a database restructuring facility.


          Figure 1-1.  How to Use TurboIMAGE/XL 

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation