Creating a database
This ABCD option allows new databases to be defined. These will be created in the folder identified with the parameter $db_path which is set up in the script config.php, stored in the folder php. The folder indicated by the parameter $db_path must be editable for updating the files.
The subfolder has the same name as the database created in the process. Under this subfolder, four new additional subfolders are created:
data with the master file and the inverted files, and the .fst for updating the inverted file
def with the additional entry formats, tables (picklists) and the other files required for entering information
pfts with the display formats and the files required for searching and information display configuration
cnv with the conversion tables and the other files required for exchange of information between databases
There are 4 essential files which define a database in ABCD:
dbn.fdt which contains field structure and the other necessary parameters for the process of entering information (see Structure of the FDT Estructura de la FDT)
dbn.fst which contains the extraction format table to create the inverted files
dbn.pft with the default display format for the records in the database
camposbusqueda.tab (fieldsearch.tab) which contains the parameters used to prepare the advanced search window.
A default entry sheet is used for
the process of entering information, which is built directly according
to the structure defined in the FDT. Other additional data entry
sheets can be defined using the procedure defined in the section
Updating the
database definition.
These
additional sheets will appear in the menu Entry
sheets located
in the upper frame of the ABCD
database
manager.
A default format is used for the process of
information display which is built directly according to the
structure defined in the FDT. Additional display formats can be
created using the procedures defined in the section Updating
the database definition. These
additional formats will appear in the menu Display
Formats located
in the upper frame of the ABCD
database
manager.
One
of the main characteristics of the data entry in ABCD
is the facility for entering the
subfields in Marc format, which allows the user to open an additional
window with the details of the subfields of each field, allowing the
insertion of information. To enable this option you should read the
documentation about the Field
Definition Table (FDT).
If the structure of the database includes different types of
records, ABCD
can also manage this. In this case you
have to assign the field tags (two maximum) indicating where the type of
record is stored, and the values that these fields can have for
each type. With this information it will be possible to assign a
special data entry sheet for each type of record, which will be
automatically activated in the process of editing the records.
For databases in the Marc format, it is possible to define the format of the Leader and the fixed fields, using the options in Types of record (Marc) in the menu for Updating the databases' definition. It is important to take into account that the fields of the Leader have 4 digit tags. Because of that, it is recommended that you take precautions when exporting databases which have the Leader in their structure.
The option Types of record (Marc) appears automatically when the presence of the field Leader is detected in the FDT. The types of records defined are stored in a structure similar to the FDT and will be presented in the data entry process depending on the type of record selected in the Leader.
There are different ways to create a new database:
New data base: to define a new database
WinIsis: allows to copy the already extant definitions of a database created using WinIsis (fdt, fst, pft). Then, through record exporting-importing it is possible to transfer information to the newly created database. It is important to take into account that in most of the cases, the databases created with WinIsis keep the ASCII character sets. Because of this, it is important to take precautions in the conversion to ANSI, which is the character set used in ABCD
Create a new database from the structures of an existing database. In this case, you need to select the name of the database to replicate and the process will end up in a new database with the same structures defined for the source database.
When a new database is defined, the following files are also created/modified:
bases.dat with the name and description of the available databases. This file can be read in all the screens that need to present a database menu, and it is located in the root directory where the databases are stored (parameter $db_path of the script config.php)
dbn.par with the path to the database and other elements required by ABCD. The files dbn.par are stored in the subfolder par of the folder where the databases are stored.
Once the database has been defined, it won't be active until you have assigned the corresponding access permissions to the users who have access to it. (See Assign permissions Asignar permisos)
Name of the database: internal name of the database. Use only numeric or alphabetic characters, starting always with an alphabetic one. The high hyphen (-) and low hyphen (_) are also allowed. Don't use question marks, blank spaces or stressed characters.
Description of the database: Name of the database to be displayed in the different menus of ABCD
Copy definition from: Select from the list the option to use to create the new database:
New database
WinIsis
Create a new database from the structures of an existing database
Once you have given all the required information, click Continue to move to the creation of the Field Definition Table.
Management of multilingual structures
With ABCD, it is possible to keep the definition files (FDT, FMT, PFT) in any of the dialogue languages managed by the system. For that purpose, there is a subfolder for each defined language under the folders def and pft .
When you create the database, its definition files are created in the folder corresponding to the active dialog language, which must coincide with the dialogue language indicated by the parameter $lang_db of the configuration file config.php.
Afterwards, when the structures of an extant database are called, they try to be located in the folder which corresponds to the active dialogue language. If they don't exist there, then the language indicated in the parameter $lang_db is used to build the paths to the database structures.
If the accessed file is stored, then it is saved in the folder which corresponds to the active dialogue language.
The ability to locate the FDT and the formats of a database in a default folder, facilitates the translation of these resources and at the same time prevents the system collapsing if there is a lack of database resources defined in the active language.