Glossary
Database terminology can differ among the various servers MacSQL can talk to.
This glossary provides a common set of definitions used in MacSQL and this manual.
- Column
- A column is a distinct field in a table that has a specific data type.
- Connection
- See Session
- Data Source
- A Data Source is the remote or local service that a session is established
with. Normally a data source is a remote database server.
- Database
- A collection of objects such as tables, indexes, and views. Most data sources
have multiple databases, though different names are used for them. (MySQL refers to
them as databases while Oracle refers to them as schema.)
- Index
- A data structure that provides a fast-access path to one or more columns in a table.
- NULL
- A psuedo value that means a column contains nothing. This is distinct from
an empty string, zero, or any other possible data value.
- Primary Key
- One or more columns whose values uniquely identify every row in a table. Normally an
index always exists on the primary key.
- Query
- A query is the primary means of viewing, changing, and analyzing data from
a database.
- Result Set
- A Result Set represents the rows that match a particular query. A result set
consists of rows of data matching the columns specified in a query (which
could be from multiple tables if a join is performed).
- Row
- A set of 1 or more data values.
- Schema
- All of the objects that encompass the design of a database, including tables,
views, and indices.
- Session
- A Session is a communications channel to a data source. This data source can
be a remote MySQL database, a local copy of Primebase, or even a text file
accessed by the ODBC text file driver. Sessions are also referred to as
Connections.
- SQL
- Structured Query Langauge. SQL is a special-purpose, nonprocedural language
that supports the definition, manipulation, and control of data in relational database
management systems.
- Table
- A Table is the main collection of data in a database. Tables are organized into
columns and rows.
- View
- A pseudo table that is really just a query. Used to filter data to see it in
a specific manner.