External DB as a first class citizen. Discussion.

Jaymer

Ben just mentioned this (not for the 1st time) in the 8.2 thread.

It got me thinking... recently I had 1 application on a server which had a CompanyBranch BO. This app has been up & running for a year. NP

The client asked me to add a new small application on the server - a small BI thingy for the CFO.
I needed to use, as a Main table, the CompanyBranch SQL Server file from the initial app.
Thing is, I'd have to treat it as an External Table - even though it is an Aware table.
The fact that it is in a new, separate BSV is the issue. The External Table gets limited functionality.
...which in my case wasn't really that big of a deal. But its kinda along the lines of what Ben is wanting.
In this case, the external table WAS a Native Citizen, but I guess he lives in a SH!T-hole part of the country so he gets mistreated.

BenHayat

Due to many "Propriety" features of Aware (which was fine a few years ago, but it's an open world now), Aware gets isolated. Aware is an EXCELLENT tool for companies to consultants to use against the existing DB and develop NEW apps along the existing apps. Most cases, DATA ALREADY EXIST. But Aware need to threat internal and external DB the same.

On the opposite side of the same coin, Aware also needs to create the schema for it's tables (relationships, foreign indexes and etc.) the same as industry standard and not the way it does now. Right now no other apps can use Aware created tables and make sense out of it. Other tools should see Aware DB just like it was created by another product.

ACDC

Aware also needs to create the schema for it's tables (relationships, foreign indexes and etc.) the same as industry standard and not the way it does now.

Ben, it would be great to have this functionality but don't you think there is a good reason why things are this way in Awareim, maybe the design of the DB layout is the secret source. I am totally clueless on this subject, but I would imagine promoting this idea would require a complete re-design of the internals of AwareIM and I don't think that's going to happen very soon

Unless of course, the requirements to meet the standard are built in as an overlay and only used in cases where needed. So the functional design is never changed, but the overlay exists for the "alien" citizen when needed

rocketman

instead of creating a new app, can you not just create the new functionality in the main app but with a completely different access level and set of user menus?

BenHayat

ACDC wrote
Ben, it would be great to have this functionality but don't you think there is a good reason why things are this way in Awareim, maybe the design of the DB layout is the secret source.

Well, in software business things change a lot from year to year. At the time when Aware was designed, it made sense to go that way, but things have changed a lot since then. Aware has done a great job with keeping up with new stuff, but the "Data" dept. need an overhaul change or it will remain a small island by itself.

A few years ago I worked with a product [toolset] that used a propriety database. It was VERY fast and reliable, but not accessible from outside. Existing customers complained and new prospects would not buy it and it forced them to change the whole Data Access Layer to SQL engine. By the time they moved, other products has emerged and they lost the market.

But it has always been my "Suggestion" and I leave it to Awaresoft for their final decision.