TOMES OF DELPHI: WIN 32 DATABASE DEVELOPER'S GUIDE 2ND ED.

RACHELE

Delphi has long been used as a database development tool, yet there is
much more to Delphi database programming than simply knowing how to use
its components. The Tomes of Delphi: Win32 Database Developer's Guide
provides an innovative treatment on the art of database programming for
highly experienced Delphi developers. This addition to Wordware's Tomes
of Delphi series begins with a comprehensive introduction to relational
databases, including design issues and the SQL language. The book then
focuses on the Delphi database tools-the Borland Database Engine, data
access components, and data-aware components-and their use in developing
projects. The final section of the book is devoted to the API's
architecture and usage, along with a reference guide to all the
functions. The companion CD-ROM contains all the source code for the
projects; trial run versions of Abbrevia, Async Pro, Orpheus, and
SysTools from Turbopower Software Company; and trial run software from
Pythoness Software.

Preface
The book that you are holding is about the art of database programming,
one of the most explored and yet sometimes least understood programming
skills. Many types of applications can be assembled from components and
code and can be expected to be reasonably successful at their task. The
database components that Delphi provides sometimes add to this false
sense of well-being. Drop a couple of database controls on a form, point
them to the appropriate data structures, and you have data access.

A database is more than data access. The latter can be attained through
simply reading and writing to a text file and handling the changes in
memory. The former is much, much more than data access in an organized
fashion. A database encompasses the data, the ways in which it
interacts, the rules that control the manipulation of its collected
facts, the processes that handle the input and output of data, the tools
that put an interface on the data, and even the screens and reports that
turn the data into information. An application of this magnitude
requires careful design that utilizes knowledge about all of these
activities and the best ways of implementing them.

This book sets off then on the premise that there is much more to Delphi
database programming than simply knowing how to use the components and
the database utilities. The first three chapters of the book introduce
the concepts of the relational database. It is my hope that the time
spent on them will influence your database designs and spell out the
benefits of adhering to this design in your application building.

Delphi is a magnificent tool. Without sounding too much like a homer, I
believe it to be the best development tool available today I am
especially enamored with the database capabilities that it surfaces. The
Borland Database Engine's architecture produces the most flexible and
easiest to work with database engines around. When you have invested the
time to understand the architecture and the workings of the BDE, you
will be amazed at what it does and can do for you and your applications.


The Delphi tool is always changing and expanding its breadth of
platforms. This book is not about a specific version of the tool, but
rather covers the 3-bit renditions as a whole. Most of the examples and
demonstrations will probably work with Delphi 3 and will certainly work
with Delphi 4. Because the material is focused not on the specifics of
version 4 but the topic in general, this book will be honored to stay on
your shelf of working books for a long time.



The Lay of the Land

The book is composed of three sections that group similar topics
together. Part I of the book is an immersion into the theory and reality
of the relational database system. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss, in depth,
the relational database in theory and the practice of design. Many
times, unless exposed to these subjects in school, the developer does
benefit fully from an understanding of the relational database and its
advantages and benefits. The final chapter in the Part I trilogy,
Chapter 3, brings you up to speed in the use of the SQL language. This
is an important topic for the developer to learn as this is the language
of choice for the formation of queries and for manipulating the SQL
databases.

The second part of the book gets to the heart of matters and focuses on
the Delphi database tools. Chapter 4 brings you up to speed on the heart
of the Delphi database functionality, the Borland Database Engine. In
addition to the workings of the engine, the chapter discusses the
utilities that support it. Chapter 5 finally arrives at the Delphi
components. This chapter introduces each of the data access components
and their usage as well as a general discussion of the dataset objects.
Chapter 6 gives the developer wide coverage of all of the data-aware
interface components, the building blocks that the user will use to
interact with data tables. The final chapter in Part 11, Chapter 7, is
about the different ways in which database information can be turned
into presentation reports.

Chapters 8 and 9 and Appendix A make up Part III of the book. This is an
eclectic group of topics that includes the use of the API, the API
function reference, and a collection of shorter articles covering
various coding techniques...


Warren Rachele is a highly experienced database application developer
with over 15 years of experience. He is the chief systems architect at
The Hunter Group in Evergreen, Colorado, and an instructor at colleges
in the Denver area. Rachele is a frequent contributor to the Delphi
Informant.

Table of Contents



Part I-The Relational Database

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Relational Database
Chapter 2: Logical and Physical Database Design
Chapter 3: SQL-Structured Query Language



Part II-The Delphi Database Tools

Chapter 4: The Borland Database Engine and the Database Utilities
Chapter 5: Data Access with Delphi
Chapter 6: Delphi's Data-Aware Components
Chapter 7: Reporting and Printing



Part III: The Well-Rounded Application

Chapter 8: Tips and Techniques
Chapter 9: The Borland Database Engine API



Appendix A: BDE API Quick Reference

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