DB

DB format was used for Borland Paradox database files, and later supported in Microsoft Office as an import/export format.

 

Manifold uses Microsoft facilities to connect to all Microsoft Office formats, including .db, and other legacy Office formats such as .html,  .mdb, .xls, and .wkx, together with newer Office formats such as .xlsx and .accdb.  If Manifold cannot import from .db, that means the Windows system we are using is missing the necessary facilities.  Please see the Microsoft Office Formats - MDB, XLS and Friends topic for a solution.

Import

Important: When importing a DB file the tables and queries that appear in the Manifold project are Manifold components with no further connection to the DB file from which they were imported.  

 

 

To import from DB format:

 

  1. Choose File-Import from the main menu.

  2. In the Import dialog browse to the folder containing the .db file.

  3. Double-click the .db file desired.

  4. Everything found in that .db database will be imported into the project.

 

 

This particular .db database contains a single table.    

 

If the table from the .db is not created as shown above, that means the Windows system we are using is missing facilities necessary for a connection to .db. Please see the Microsoft Office Formats - MDB, XLS and Friends topic for a solution.

 

We can double-click the table to open it.

 

 

The biolife table contains information on various species of fish.   DB is an old database format, but it has significantly better data types, which Manifold will utilize, than ancient DBF format.  Manifold will capture whatever there is in the DB, and will utilize key fields and indexes in the database.  For example, in the table above, Manifold automatically utilized the index on the Species No field so the table is fully editable and selectable.   If we had imported a table from a database with no index, we could add an index in moments, as illustrated in the Add an Index to a Table topic.

Linking a DB

Important: When linking a DB file the tables and queries that appear in that data source in the Manifold project stay resident in the DB file.   They are DB components even though they may appear in many respects, for the convenience of the user, to be Manifold components.   DB files linked into a Manifold project are fully read/write.

 

 

The Save cache  button allows setting cache options.   Most often when linking to a format like DB, we will ensure the Save cached box is not checked.  Working with a linked DB database will be faster if we check the box, but if we are going to cache data within the project we may as well simply import the DB and use full Manifold speed.   We uncheck the box and then we press Link.

 

To link a DB format file:

 

  1. Choose File-Link from the main menu.

  2. In the Link dialog browse to the folder containing the .db file.

  3. Click the .db file desired.

  4. Check or uncheck the Save cache box as desired.

  5. Press Link.  A linked data source will appear in the project.

  6. Press the + icon next to the data source to expand the data source to see the tables and queries it contains.

 

 

That creates a data source called biolife that contains all of the tables and any other contents of the .db file's database.   

 

If a new data source for the .db is not created as shown above that means the Windows system we are using is missing the facilities necessary for a connection to .db. Please see the Microsoft Office Formats - MDB, XLS and Friends topic for a solution.

 

We can click on the + icon by the data source cylinder to expand the biolife hierarchy.  In this example, the hierarchy contains only the biolife table plus two system tables that seem to appear courtesy of Manifold's internal functioning.

 

 

Opening the biolife table we see it is the same table that was imported earlier in this topic.    Since it is linked the table is still resident in the .db file.

 

Notes

Import - Because DB is a very limited format it is not a great idea to leave data in a DB file unless we are forced to do that, for example, to allow continued interchange with older applications that insist upon using DB.   If all we want to do is to harvest data from a DB it is a better idea to import data from the DB and to save that data in a Manifold .map format file.

 

UUID - PostgreSQL, Jet DB, Jet WKx, Jet XLS, and ADO.NET databases support UUID fields as a native UUID type.

 

See Also

Tables

 

Editing Tables

 

Selection

 

Add an Index to a Table

 

File - Create - New Data Source

 

DBMS Data Sources - Notes

 

SHP, Shapefiles

 

Microsoft Office Formats - MDB, XLS and Friends