Database Explorer

Every vendor of relational database products provides a software database client tool that allows viewing of database tables, and manage the creation, deletion, and modifications of database objects. The client software tools are typically installed and licensed as applications that run on a given PC. They provide support only for the vendors database product.

By contrast Database Explorer is either a stand alone java application or a web based java application started by Web Start from a company's intranet web site or an internet web site. Database Explorer provides the same type of functionality as the proprietary products but provides support for any vendors database that can be accessed via the Java Database Connectivity feature (JDBC). Database Explorer does not require installation on each client PC and can be accessed by any one that has been assigned a user name and password. The latest version of the system is automatically available to all users.Database Explorer displays column specifications for a database table when a user clicks on the table name in the tree structure. Clicking on the Select icon or the Sample icon in the tool bar will display all the data the table contains or a sample (first 21 rows) of the data. Users can modify these tables, create new ones, delete and update tables with new or modified information. Queries can be constructed and the results displayed in data tables. The data in these tables can be viewed, edited, printed, or saved on the user's PC file system.

Database explorer can be connected to any number of databases or ODBC data sources at the same time (depending on RAM available on the client PC) and the local file system. Database Explorer automatically displays a default database that was setup by the system administrator. A user can add additional databases to a tree structure and then explore it's tables and views by clicking on the table names. The client can simply drag a table from a database and drop it on a local directory to save/export the data into a tab delimited file format that can be easily imported into any number of applications or another database.

A database table from one vendor's database may be dragged to another's database to create a new table that has all the column attributes of the source table.

A query window provides user interface objects that will aid in creating an SQL query. Queries can be saved to the local file system. These queries can be loaded at a later date and executed to produce reports that are required on a repeating basis. Database experts can provide each user with a set of queries that can be saved and loaded as required.

There are numerous commands provided by the system to manipulate data windows. Data can be sorted by clicking on the column name. The find/replace commands can be used to locate rows that contain values that you want to view or change. A data window can be manipulated so that some columns can be dropped from the display. Direct editing can be performed on data displayed in a data window. Update and insert forms can be requested to add rows to the table or update a rows contents. Data in a column can be summarized (frequency distribution of unique values in the column).

The data in a data window may be exported from the system in a number of different formats. This facility allows for the exchange of information between databases and also provides a mechanism to push data into other applications such as Excel or Word.

Database Explorer provides a Report Editor and Print Facility window that can be used to dress up a report with colors, fonts, and images and than either print the report or save it to the local file system. A report is created from a data window after a query is executed. The data window supplies the data needed by a report.

Database Explorer shows the local file system on the clients PC. The user can view the drives, directories and files in the local file system. He may save data from queries, reports, and exported data into the local file system. Data may be saved as tab delimited text files, HTML tables that correspond to java data tables, or saved as XML files where the data is wrapped in column name tags.

There are many more features available in the Database Explorer system. The best way to learn about the system is to get access to it and then display the Help menu and select the Contents command to view all the system documentation.

A test drive can be arranged by contacting George White.

Foot Note:

Web Start is included in the java run time system which can be down loaded free of charge from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html. Please note that 1.4.2 is the latest release of the run time environment and will change with new releases.