Defining Multiple Databases

One important concept is that each database defined by the Script Name setting in the c-tree ODBC Setup dialog can be thought of as a view into a larger database. The FairCom Data Dictionary (CTSYSCAT.FCS) can hold many database names (or views), each containing many file (table) names. The fewer files in each database, the faster data access will be. It is advisable to split your application files across many databases, each containing different groups of files.

For example, the tutorial has four files: Customer, Orders, Order_Detail, and Items. If a particular user only requires access to information from the Customer file, create a database with only the Customer file. This is done with the automatic dictionary method by creating a dictionary script with just the customer file, CUSTOMER.DB, as follows:

CUSTOMERS      c:\FAIRCOM\ODBC\32bit\sample\custmast.dat

Using the ODBC Setup icon in the Windows Control Panel, a new ODBC Driver entry can be created that specifies the Script Name to be CUSTOMER.DB.