Choose the Best Data Format for each File

You demand a lot from your business system. The database format for your business data is important because it impacts the speed of processing, ease of analysis, reliability, security, portability, and value of your business system. No single database is tops in all these areas, so how do you choose the business system with the database that is best for you?

Choose SouthWare! With the SouthWare Excellence Series built on Acucorp technology you can choose from among the leading database formats for your data. You can use a fast, portable format such as Vision ISAM or an accessible database management system such as Microsoft SQL Server. And with SouthWare’s Database Director you can mix and match database formats within one set of data!

How does this work? The Database Director allows you to selectively choose the database format for specific files. You might use a speedy ISAM structure for normal transaction files but choose an easily-analyzed relational database format for your history files. Or choose both for the same file by specifying that you want a replicate (duplicate) file to be interactively maintained in a alternate format.

With SouthWare’s Database Director and the appropriate Acucorp software you can:

• Choose from database formats such as Vision ISAM, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase (for history files), Btrieve, C-ISAM, and generic ODBC
• Mix multiple formats within the same set of data files - option to choose the format per SouthWare file n Replicate a file that is maintained interactively (e.g.- use Vision for normal processing but maintain a parallel history file in Oracle for data mining and analysis)
• Convert files from one database format to another
• Rebuild a Replicate File from the normal file
• Specify pathnames for certain files (e.g. for distributed server processing)
• Access file info such as record counts and lock status
• Automatically rebuild Vision ISAM files

Key Features of Database Director

Selectable Data Format per File
• Default format is Vision, a fast, portable ISAM structure
• Other formats include:
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Oracle and Sybase (for history files)
• Btrieve
• C-ISAM
• generic ODBC

Visual Management of Files
• Database Director View lets you view and edit file information for entire database
• Select files by Application, File Status, File system format, current replication
• Options to:
• Edit file record info
• Display file statistics
• Convert to different format (switch formats)
• Copy data to a file/format (one-time copy)
• Create New Replicate File
• Recreate Existing Replicate File Data
• Check/Rebuild Vision file
• Refresh View

Built-In Guidance for Complex Issues
• Data formats with less-flexible record-locking are recommended only for certain files
• Files that don’t support replication are automatically identified

Powerful File Utilities
• Take a single file or a list of files and:
• Convert them to a different format
• Copy them to a new format/name
• Rebuild the related replicate files

Replication Option
• Create/maintain a duplicate file in another name/format
• May maintain up to 9 file replicates
• Option to customize replication via custom program without changing standard code

Optional File Overrides
• May override path and name for a file
• May specify a custom XFD (file definition)

Database-Related Needs you can handle include:

• Maintaining selected SouthWare files in Microsoft SQL Server format
• Storing sales history files in a relational database for data mining and analysis
• Processing sales history in a fast Vision ISAM format while maintaining a replicate copy in Oracle for analysis
• Creating a one-time copy of a file in a different format
• Switching selected files from one format to a different file format
• Recreating a replicate file from the data in the normal processing file
• Specifying alternate pathnames and filenames for selected files