Sage-ST TM
Development System (SDS)
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Sage-ST TMDevelopment System (SDS) |
The SDS is a relational database system used for the rapid development of applications using the Ada programming language. In addition to a variety of packages, the SDS includes several tools that may prove useful to you and your customer. Each of these tools is covered in detail in its own section; however, you should understand here what part they play in the overall system.
THOR - All Sage-ST TM applications that use the database, forms (windows, menus, etc.), or reporting functions require a file with a suffix of .DFL to be made available. This file contains the database schema, forms and windows, and report definitions. Since nearly every application requires at least the use of forms, menus, or windows, the creation and maintenance of a data dictionary becomes necessary. This is done using the THOR editor. THOR operates on a file that has a suffix of .SRC. It provides the capability of creating and editing schemas, forms, and report formats, and of compiling the SRC file into the DFL file that is used by the application.
GRAPL - Most of our customers are a bit unsure of what they actually want when they first come to us. Using THOR and GRAPL (an Ada/Sage-ST TM subset interpreter), we can quickly sketch out a system for the user to look at. Once a set of requirements has been decided upon, we can progress to the Ada compiler. We have also found GRAPL to be useful in Sage-ST TM training classes, relieving novice programmers of some of the difficulties associated with the Ada compiler.
SDI - No matter how flexible you make your system, your customer is going to want more reports or query capabilities. SDI is an ad hoc query and reports generator that you can give to your customer or call from your own system.
SQL - For those people who need to be able to perform mass updates (and other operations) on the database, SQL is available. It is an interactive, DML Level 1 ANSI standard compliant structured query language. We recommend caution in using this tool, as no data validation is performed on changes.
MONITOR - When someone using your multi-user system goes to lunch without releasing their resources, MONITOR allows the system administrator to get the system running again.
LOGGER - If yours is a mission-critical system requiring the utmost in data protection, each transaction against the database can be recorded. If the database is destroyed, LOGGER will use the transaction files to roll forward from the last backup.
CONFIGUR - On a system where not all data files reside in the same place, or perhaps files must be moved to another location, CONFIGUR allows your system to find the data files without recompiling either the data dictionary or the source code.
REBUILD - When your customer changes their mind about what data must be stored and you find you must make changes to the schema of a populated database, REBUILD allows the old schema and data to be brought up to date without loss of data.
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