Rocket U2 Databases Incubator Training Samples General Introduction Published by the International U2 User Group Authors: Brian Leach David Jordon Content Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 The U2UG Incubator Project ........................................................................................................................... 4 Exploring the Incubator Project ....................................................................................................................... 5 Who Should Read This Guide .......................................................................................................................... 6 Further Information ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Installing the U2 Bookstore ................................................................................................................................. 7 Downloading UniVerse Personal Edition ......................................................................................................... 8 Installing the UniVerse Database Server ......................................................................................................... 9 Installing Dynamic Connect ............................................................................................................................. 9 Installing UniDK ............................................................................................................................................. 10 Installing the U2 Bookstore Database ........................................................................................................... 11 Connecting to UniVerse ................................................................................................................................. 12 Logging Into the UniVerse Environment ....................................................................................................... 14 Entering the Account Path............................................................................................................................. 15 The UniVerse Command Shell ....................................................................................................................... 16 Disconnecting Safely ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Fundamental Concepts ...................................................................................................................................... 18 UniVerse Accounts ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Account Flavors ............................................................................................................................................. 20 UniVerse Files ................................................................................................................................................ 21 Listing the Files in your Account .................................................................................................................... 21 Navigating through Listings ........................................................................................................................... 22 Listing File Content ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Records and Fields ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Files and Dictionaries ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Listing a File Dictionary .................................................................................................................................. 23 Records and Keys ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Dictionary Definitions .................................................................................................................................... 24 Related Fields ................................................................................................................................................ 25 MultiValued Data........................................................................................................................................... 25 XML Listings ................................................................................................................................................... 26 UniVerse Programming ................................................................................................................................. 27 Rocket U2 Incubator 2 The U2 Bookstore .............................................................................................................................................. 28 The U2 Bookstore and U2 Books Company ................................................................................................... 29 U2 Bookstore Database Layout ..................................................................................................................... 30 Book Details ............................................................................................................................................... 30 Clients and Sales Orders ............................................................................................................................ 31 Purchases ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Exploring the Demo system through the command prompt ........................................................................ 33 Exploring the Demo System through Visual Tools ........................................................................................ 37 Rocket U2 Incubator 3 Introduction The U2UG Incubator Project The International U2 User Group (“U2UG”) is a volunteer organization made up of developers, end users and other professionals associated with the UniVerse and UniData business platforms and the associated U2 product lines from Rocket Software, Inc. You can find details of the U2 User Group on the website, www.u2ug.org . The user group encourages participation in technical forums, manages a number of technical mailing lists, and runs a number of projects ranging from sourcing and filtering improvement requests for UniVerse and UniData through to various initiatives for creating educational materials for those wishing to learn about different aspects of the U2 technologies. The Incubator Project is one such initiative. The Incubator Project has been envisaged as a showcase for the U2 platforms, a central repository of examples, explanatory materials and resources through which developers can explore the potential of the U2 data model and can view working samples of some of the many techniques available for building real-world applications leveraging U2 technologies. The Incubator Project will, over time, come to hold a wide range of applications and solutions, all of which are founded on a single database and that represent a single fictional company, “U2 Books”. By using a single database, this frees up contributors from having to worry about creating their own demonstration data and should simplify the learning curve for developers wishing to explore and to compare amongst the range of different technologies on offer. The Incubator Project is a wholly volunteer effort. The U2UG Board would therefore like to express its gratitude to those who have taken the time, and who will take time in future, to contribute to the growth of this project. Rocket U2 Incubator 4 Exploring the Incubator Project The U2 technologies are very wide reaching, encompassing different data models, middleware APIs, target languages, data access techniques and application generation tools - and so can be daunting to developers who are encountering these for the first time. Even developers seasoned in other products that share the same data model, can find the sheer weight of the available features overwhelming. For most, the problem is not that these technologies are difficult in themselves: the difficulty arises in simply knowing which of these approaches to use for a given situation. The Incubator Project is therefore intended to give a flavour of these various options, by presenting a range of different applications all sharing the same database. By comparing these applications, and by examining how they are built, new and existing developers can assess the various strengths and weaknesses and discover techniques that they can adapt. The Incubator Project therefore contains: • A core database representing the fictional “U2 Bookstore”. • Additional databases holding the server-side components for each sample application. • Client side applications showing different data access or application development techniques. Each of these applications is accompanied by documentation explaining how the application has