The Cloudscape System Panel

What Is the Cloudscape System?

The Cloudscape system consists ofan instance of Cloudscape and the environment in which it runs. For Cloudview sessions, the system is determined when Cloudview was started (or, for clients, when the connection is established). There can be only one system per Cloudview session, but a system does not restrict which databases you can open.

For any particular database, the system context exists only as long as the Cloudview session; system information is not retained with databases opened in Cloudview. However, system settings are preserved for that system, and are automatically written to the SysVisual.properties file in the System Directory. The SysVisual.properties file is read each time Cloudview starts that system (i.e., starts in that directory).

For more information, see the section About the System Directory.

Working in the Cloudscape System

From the System tab, you can configure the Cloudview system, or interact with Cloudscape databases:

System Settings

When the System node is highlighted in the left panel of Cloudview, the right panel displays tabs which you can use to specify system-specific information:

Connection Tab

The Connection tab specifies the default connection for the system. These settings are used by databases opened or created from the Cloudview system. Cloudview reads these connection settings upon each Open or Create operation, so different databases in a single system can have different connection properties.

As with all system settings, connection properties specified here are not stored with the database. Even if, within a single Cloudview session, you establish multiple connections with differing properties, Cloudview only preserves one set of connection properties (those specified here when Cloudview exits).

Depending on how Cloudview was started, the information in the connection tab varies. For more information about this tab, see "Modifying Connection Properties".

Preferences Tab

The Preferences tab contains the following Cloudview preference settings:

Information Tab

The Information tab displays the results the Cloudscape sysinfo utility. This tab displays, among other things, the class path and the Cloudscape and Java versions running at the time Cloudview was started.

This information is static; it cannot be modified from Cloudview, and it cannot be dynamically refreshed. The display reflects sysinfo output at the time Cloudview was started.

Modifying Connection Properties

The Connection tab is divided into three sections:

About Connection Settings

Cloudview accesses each database through its own connection. Database connection properties can be different for each database open in a system.

Cloudview's connection settings are used whenever a connection is established to a database (such as when it is opened or created). Modifying connection properties is optional, and Cloudview provides default connection properties.

Situations in which you may need to modify connection properties include those in which the database is located on a different machine or can only be accessed through a particular framework (such as Cloudconnector or RmiJdbc).

NOTE: When you open a second Cloudview window using File->New->Window, a new, additional connection is established to each currently-open database. If the first window contains two or more databases with different connection properties, the File->New command cannot successfully initiate connections to them all, and an error is displayed. Only databases whose connection properties match the current setting are successfully opened in the new window.

To see or modify connection properties:

  1. Click the System icon in the left panel.
  2. Choose the Connection tab in the right panel.
    The Connection tab displays three sections:

URL

The URL section of the properties tab defaults to the embedded Cloudscape setting.

  1. If Cloudscape is running embedded, the URL prefix should be jdbc:cloudscape: (this is the default value). If you are accessing the server from a framework, you need to modify this value (see step 2).
    NOTE: Only connect to a database in an embedded environment if you are certain no other application is currently accessing the database, otherwise database corruption may occur. On Windows platforms, Cloudscape prevents you from doing this.
  2. To access a server from a framework (such as Cloudconnector or rmiJdbc), modify the value in the URL Prefix field:
  3. In the Host field, optionally specify the host name for a server. If you specify the Cloudconnector driver, the appropriate default is automatically entered.
  4. In the Port field, optionally specify the port for a server. If you are using the WebLogic driver, the appropriate default appears.
  5. In the Attributes field, optionally specify one or more attributes to the database connection URL. Prepend the attribute with a semicolon(;). For example, ;create=true or ;logDevice=LogDirPath. If you specify multiple attributes, separate them with semicolons.
    For detailed information about supported attributes and values, see the section about Database Connection URL Attributes in the Cloudscape Reference Manual.
    NOTE: The autocommit=false attribute is not supported in Cloudview. Autocommit is always turned on in Cloudview, regardless of this setting.

Log-in

  1. In the Log-in area, enter a user name and password, if required.

Driver

  1. Depending on your URL prefix, the Class field in the Driver section might be empty or automatically populated with one of the following values:

If you are using a server framework not listed here, type the appropriate value in the Class field.

NOTE: If you connect to a database that requires upgrading to the current version of Cloudscape, a message displays when you attempt the connection.

Note that once you have set connection properties within Cloudview, they are preserved for that system. For more information about system properties, see The Cloudscape System Panel.

About the System Directory

Within Cloudview, the location of the system directory is only meaningful when opening or creating a database, and when modifying System Settings (the SysVisual.properties file).

The system directory provides the default database location during an Open or Create operation. However, you can always use the Directory button (from inside the Create Database or Open Database dialogs) to create or locate databases outside the System Directory.

You can explicitly specify the system directory for a Cloudview session in these ways:

If you do not explicitly specify the location of the system directory, it defaults to one of the following:

Creating or Opening Databases

This section covers the following topics:

For information about executing SQL-J statements against a database, see the section "Submitting SQL-J Statements".

For information about creating or deleting dictionary objects, see the section "Dictionary Objects"

Creating a Database

From Cloudview you can create a new database.

NOTE: When you create a new database from Cloudview, the database's connection properties are inherited from the Cloudview connection settings. Before creating a new database, you may want to check the connection properties. For information on connection properties, see "Modifying Connection Properties".

To create a new database:

Choose File->New->Database from the menu bar. The New Database dialog appears.

The New Database Dialog


The New Database dialog contains four tabs: Database, Synchronization, Localization, and Encryption. All tabs except Database are optional.

Database Tab

Synchronization Tab

Localization Tab

Encryption Tab

Where is the Database Created?

Unless you explicitly specified a database directory on the database tab, the directory in which the database is created depends on how you started Cloudview, and whether it is connecting to the new database as a client:

Opening an Existing Database

You can open an existing database in the following ways:

Once you have opened a database, it is displayed in the left panel next to the database icon, and its name is added to the File History list saved with this system.

From the File History List

On the File menu, Cloudview displays a list of databases previously opened in this system. To open a previously-opened database, choose it from the history list on the File menu.

Using the Directory Browser

To open an existing database using the Cloudview directory browser:

  1. Choose File->Open from the menu bar. The Browse for Folder dialog displays.
    By default, the browser opens in the System directory.
  2. Navigate to the appropriate directory, highlight the database name, and click OK.
  3. Click OK.

By Name

The Open by Name feature lets you open a database in the system directory without having to use the navigator or specify a pathname or location. To open a database by name:

  1. Choose File->Open by Name from the menu bar. The "Open by Name" dialog appears.
  2. In the Name field, type the name of a database in the System Directory. Optionally, you can choose the name using the Directory or List buttons.
    Click Directory to choose from the file browser, or List to choose from a list of databases known to the system.
  3. Click OK.

From the Command Line or Shortcut

To automatically open a database when Cloudview opens, specify the database name on the command line when you launch Cloudview. For example:

java COM.cloudscape.tools.cview MyDBName