Dictionary/3000 Reference Manual (32244-90001)

28 Chapter3
Using the DICTDBM Commands
Using Commands to Define a Database
Using Commands to Define a Database
An IMAGE database can be defined in the Dictionary in two ways. For an existing IMAGE
database, use the Database Definition utility program (DICTDBD) to transfer the
database definitions from the database root file to the Dictionary. Refer to Section V of this
manual for information on this utility.
The second way is to use the commands provided by the DICTDBM program. The database
and the data sets are created in the Dictionary as files. The database is a BASE file; the
manual master sets are MAST files; the automatic master sets are AUTO files; and the
detail sets are DETL files. The data items in the database are created as elements in the
Dictionary.
The definition for a database is completed by establishing the relationship between the
BASE file and the data sets. This relationship is a hierarchical relationship and is defined
using the RELATE command. The elements are then added to the appropriate data sets
with the ADD command. (Refer to Section IV of this manual for a description of these
commands.) The hierarchical structure for a database is shown in Figure 3-1
Figure 3-1. Summary of Hierarchical Structure for a Database
The BASE file is the top of the structure and is the PARENT file. The data sets are related
to the BASE file and are CHILD files. In this structure, the PARENT file cannot have data
elements directly associated with it. The following description outlines the steps involved
when you use the DICTDBM commands to define a database. A complete description,
including examples for all the commands is given in Section IV of this manual.
BASE
FILE
MAST
FILE ...
AUTO
FILE ...
DETL
FILE ...
PARENT file
CHILD files
data
elements...
data
element ...
data
elements ...