| The Database Access Library for C++ |
The Database Access Library is designed to support developers of client/server applications.
Especially targetted to developers that want to build shrink wrapped applications that have
to support different relational databases.
The Database Access Library bridges the gab between databases and your application.
It delivers your persistent business objects ready to use, fully packed with all
features you may expect in professional database applications, and more.
This will not only lead to better quality in the end result. It will also
dramatically increase the productivity of the developers.
The Database Access Library is designed for ease of use. With this library
developers can focus on the business domain instead of the technical
details involved in connecting to a database.
Using the Database Access Library will naturally lead to well designed applications.
The Library prescribes the use of the wel established Model-View-Controler design pattern.
And makes a three layer-architecture where database functionality, business logic and
presentation are seperated. This will lead to applications of better quality, that are
easier to maintain.
You may wonder how this compares to other products that offer general
database access like Microsofts ADO/OleDB or Rogue Wave DBTools.h++
These tools only offer you a database independent interface.
Palisands Database Access Library offers you much more than that...
Objects in the database instead of tables in your application
The common database connection tools offer a general interface to the database
tables found in relational databases. You typically will find tables, columns and
rows that you can read from and commands to execute in your database. To build these
commands you often have to use SQL statements to specify your database functionality.
And since different databases use different dialects of SQL, before you know it you
are locked into one specific database.
The Database Access Library uses a different approach. It focuses on the business
objects you want to implement and how these objects should become persistent. No more
stuffing your round objects into square tables and losing out on valuable object-oriented
principles like inheritance and encapsulation.
Nowadays every professional development team uses object-oriented analysis and
design methods. But when the data should be stored in a relational database the
features that make object-orientation such a powerful aid in building applications
are lost in your model because the database does not support them. The Database
Access Library fully supports the object-oriented model and makes a complete
transparent transformation of your business objects to relational database tables.
Where the database leaves off, the Database Access Library will take over.
The design of the Database Access Library started with an analysis of the features
that persistent business objects should support in a professional environment and
looks how every individual database can support these the best. This resulted in a
completely database independent application programming interface, while utilizing
every available feature of the underlying database to optimize the access to it.
For instance DAL drivers will use stored procedures to optimize performance where
possible.
When building a database application many developers are satisfied when
the data is stored in tables and on the first glance this indeed makes it work.
But when you set your standards at a professional level you expect more.
A Unique Object Identity
Science has already long established that objects should have a guaranteed unique
identity independent of attribute values. Relational databases in general do not
naturally support this. The Database Access Library
however generates a database wide unique identifier for each object that is created
and this identifier will not be changed during its lifetime.
Guaranteed Referential Integrity
You expect that the referential integrity of you data is guaranteed. Normally this
means writing triggers or stored procedures for all your associations. With
the Database Access Library this comes with the package. Just tell it whether you
want cascading or restricted deletes and DAL does the rest.
Multiuser safe
Many database applications do not take measures to ensure that one user can not
write over the changes of another. This can even lead to corrupt data. The
Database Access Library supports the optimistic locking strategy to
avoid this. When necessary individual objects can be explicitely locked to gain
exclusive access.
Performance
How many times does it happen that an application is finished
but you discover that it does not perform the way you want it.
The Database Access Library is optimized
for performance by using the best performing features of the database even when
they are not standards compliant. But the highest performance gains are achieved
by utilizing a client side object cache. All performance features are build transparently
built into the library. Just use it and experience the performance.
The Database Access Library will save you time and increase the quality and maintainability
of your applications. Are you interested? Go to the
download
section of this site to download the demo version of the Database Access Library. Visit the
register
-page to get unlimited access to all supported databases.