Databases

The Databases table (md_database) is found in the Metadata module of iTopia. Databases contain information about the tables and columns within the tables. The two Databases that are shipped with iTopia are:

• ibis - this is the database that contains the information about the Integrated Business Intelligence Suite.

• meta - this is the database that contains the information about the meta data in your iTopia system. Meta data is also known as 'data about data' which is the information about the contents and uses of the data warehouse. Meta data is created by several components of the data warehouse and provides a business and technical view of the data warehouse solution.

The following list defines every field available in the database (md_database) table in alphabetical order:

• Alternate Identifier - an alternate to the database name. One usage of this field is to generate the method names for Java Table Objects and their supporting classes.
  • Default value set to {md.pk}.

• Average Columns per Domain - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the average columns per domain.

• Average Columns per Table - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the average columns per table.

• Average Parent Relationship per Table - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the average parent relationships per table.

• Average Regular Columns per Table - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the average regular columns per table.

• Column Differences - this field is not maintainable. A multimedia artifact type column used to display a series of workbooks containing the differences between database columns associated with two subsequent product feature releases.
  • The workbooks were created using Microsoft Excel.

  • The associated custom attribute references a system resource.

  • Refer to the DiffStatus column of each workbook to know whether or not a given field was added to the latest release, modified or rendered obsolete; color-coding within the file also helps to quickly identify the status. The workbooks show the current value of the following fields (previous values are shown in the cell comments):
    • Table Name
    • Column Name
    • Data Type
    • Data Length
    • Precision
    • Decimal Places (scale)
    • Is Required (nulls)
    • Default Value
    • Physical Sequence

• Configuration - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that shows the connection information for a given database via the Effective System Properties view.

• Created By - displays the name of the user who created the record you are viewing or maintaining. May not be overridden.

• Created On - displays the date on which the record that you are creating or maintaining was created. May not be overridden. May also represent the creation date of the records you are attempting to retrieve.

• Data Model - this field is not maintainable. A multimedia artifact type column used to display a PDF version of the database's data model.
  • The data models were created using the ERWin tool (by Computer Associated) and were subsequently exported into PDF files. Since all databases are too large to fit into a single 22X34 inch diagram (our standard), each has been split up into separate subject areas. Although all subject areas for a given database reside in the same PDF document, each one has been bookmarked individually for ease of access. Simply click the Bookmarks tab from within the PDF document, and then click on a given subject area bookmark to view that specific area of the data model.

• Database Attributes - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that includes a hyperlink to the Database Attributes view. Click the hyperlink to see the attributes of the database and any subsequent databases.

• Database Name - this field is maintainable in creation mode only, when it appears in the key subview. The unique identifier for the database.
  • Must only contain lowercase characters.

  • The name must be representative of the defined database.

• Description - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that shows the text associated with the assigned description literal key.

• Description Literal Key - the literal key for the database description.

• Extra Attributes - a CLOB-type field used to store additional JSON information.

• Generate WSDL - click Go to generate a WSDL file for the current user view. The WSDL file includes the following columns:
  • The search section is generated according to the search criteria for the selected user view.

  • The update section is generated using all the maintainable metadata columns and the business key columns (even if not maintainable in update mode) for the selected user view.

• Modification Counter - this field is not maintainable. The date and time a given record was last modified.

• Modified By - this field is not maintainable. The user or system process that last modified the record.

• Modified On - this field is not maintainable. The date on which the record was last modified.

• Number of Audit Columns - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of audit columns.

• Number of Columns - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of columns.

• Number of Custom Columns - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of custom columns.

• Number of Domains - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of domains.

• Number of Keys - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of keys.

• Number of Queues - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of queues.

• Number of Regular Columns - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of regular columns.

• Number of Relations - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of relations.

• Number of Staging Tables - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of staging tables.

• Number of Tables - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of tables.

• Number of Views - this field is not maintainable. An expression column that displays the number of views.

• Refresh Data Dictionary and Literals - click Refresh to refresh the Java components' cache to improve the application's performance.

• Topic Help - this field is not maintainable. A hyperlink that allows you to view the database entity's help topic file, if one exists.

• Track Changes - the following options are available: Yes and No (default).
  • A value of Yes indicates that this database will keep track of changes made if the affected table and column are also tracking changes.

  • A value of No indicates that no changes for this database will be tracked. This will override the Track Changes flag at the table and column level.

For the functionality of each action (i.e. button) available on this view, refer to the About the Actions topic.