ALLBASE/SQL Reference Manual (36216-90216)

Chapter 1 51

Introduction

ALLBASE/SQL Users

ALLBASE/SQL users fall into the three categories as described here. One person may do

all the tasks within these categories.

• Application programmers. These users write application programs that access

ALLBASE/SQL databases. They embed SQL statements in source code to manipulate

data. Programmers then use the preprocessor that supports their programming

language. The preprocessor prepares the application program for compilation and

stores database access information in a module in the DBEnvironment; the stored

module contains optimized data access paths that are used at run time. Once the

program is compiled, authorized users can execute it.

Application programmers also use ISQL throughout program development.

DBEnvironments for testing and running applications can be created via ISQL. You can

determine the effect of many SQL statements by using ISQL.

• Database administrators. These individuals, referred to as DBAs, are responsible for

the creation and maintenance of ALLBASE/SQL DBEnvironments. They use SQL

statements, usually via ISQL, to perform the following tasks:

— Deﬁne DBEnvironments, grant and revoke authorities, add and drop DBEFiles,

alter tables, deﬁne indexes, and deﬁne views using SQL, ISQL, or preprocessed

programs.

— Alter the conﬁguration of a DBEnvironment, move or purge DBEFiles, and back up

DBEnvironments using SQLUtil.

— Access information in the system catalog to monitor DBEnvironment usage and help

ensure efﬁcient access to data.

— Re-create all or part of a DBEnvironment on a different system by using SQLGEN.

• End users. These users run application programs that access ALLBASE/SQL

databases. They do not need to be aware of the components of ALLBASE/SQL in many

cases. These users may occasionally use ISQL to issue simple SQL statements that

retrieve or change data. Relational databases are particularly well-suited for data

access of this nature, because you can access data without specifying speciﬁc access

paths. End users only need to know table and column names.