Creating database applications

A database element allows you to query a back-end database and display the results in an application.

Creating a database element

Log in to Mobile Web Studio and select Build | Applications. Right-click in the detail view and select New Aggregated Application.

When the Application Builder appears, right-click in the left frame and select New Database Element from the Element menu. You can also click the down arrow next to Add and select Database Element.

In the Database Element Definition window, select one of either:

Connection Cache – this option is the default. In ConnCache Name, select the name of the connection cache you want to use from the drop-down list, such as sampledb.

Optionally, you can click Browse to see metadata for the connection cache name you selected from the drop-down list. In Relation Names, select a table, then view column information.

Using a connection pool is more efficient than using the JDBC URL option, which creates a new connection to the database every time the application executes.
JDBC URL – customizes the login or other connection information for specific users. Enter:
- Username – enter the user name used to access the database. The default user name for Adaptive Server Anywhere is dba.
- Password – enter the password used to access the database. The default password for the Adaptive Server Anywhere database is SQL.
- JDBC Connect URL – enter the connection string to access the database; for example:
```
jdbc:sybase:Tds:localhost:port/portaldatabase
```
  - localhost – the name of the installed database server
  - port – the port used to connect to the specified database
  - portaldatabase – the name of the database to which you want to connect
  If the database server is installed on the same machine as UA, you do not have to change the “localhost” value.
- JDBC Driver – enter the JDBC driver used to access the database; for example:
```
com.sybase.jdbc3.jdbc.SybDriver
```
- SQL Query String – enter the SQL statement to retrieve the requested data from the database. Click Preview to see the query results. See “@OP parameters” for information about using @OP parameters in a database query.
- UI XSLT – (optional) enter the complete URL of the XSLT to be applied to the content returned by the database or click Select to choose from existing XSL templates.

Click Next.

In the Define window, define the record layout and specify a record header. See “Defining record layout”. Click Next.

In the Filter window, specify filter rules to select only the relevant data from the element. See “Adding filter rules”. Click Next.

This window displays only if you have defined the record layout. The Configure Parameters window displays the element’s CGI parameters. See “CGI parameters” and “Using the database table adapter”. Click Next.

In the New Web Element window, enter a name for the database application in the Element Name field. Click Finish.

In Application Builder, save the application as described in “Saving applications”.

See Chapter 11, “Deploying Mobile Applications” for information about deploying applications to mobile devices, and see Chapter 9, “Building Pages,” for instructions on adding applications to pages.