Both tableBASE and tablesONLINE need to know the basic physical attributes, such as table organization, search method, and row size, of a table. In addition, tablesONLINE requires more detailed information in order to allow you to browse and edit table rows online.
This detailed information, which is stored in a View, includes information about:
- where each field of data is positioned within a row
- whether to interpret data as alphanumeric characters, a binary integer, or more complex data types, such as a date
- where to position data on the screen
- the name of each field
tablesONLINE sees tables in pairs. Each table consists of a Data Table and a View containing the data definitions for the table. One Data Table may have several Views, each of which defines a different layout of the underlying data.
Views are used to support data validation during data entry and, later, browsing of table data. High volume processing, whether transaction or batch oriented, typically ignores any Views that may exist and uses only the Data Tables. It is possible, however, to code your own applications to take advantage of the inherent capabilities of Views. For example, if range checking or other validation of fields within a row is required at certain points in the application, the View can provide all the field details needed to do this. The table-defining options of tablesONLINE allow the user to:
- define tables – by creating tableBASE table definitions
- define rows – by creating tablesONLINE Views