Column

Description

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This read-only column contains an automatically generated sequential number used by Magic xpa as a data source identifier.

Name

This is the name of the data source, as it will be reflected in Magic xpa. The maximum length for the name is 30 characters. This name is internal to Magic xpa.

Data Source Name

In this mandatory column, you can enter the name of the table when the data source is a database, or enter the default name and location when the data source is an XML data file. When specifying an XML file, the user can zoom to the File dialog box from this column and specify a location in the file system (with or without the file:// prefix) or a URL (HTTP/HTTPS) to the XML file. The value set in the Location column of the Database repository will be used as a prefix to what is specified in this column. The maximum length for this name is 260 characters.

In this column, you can define the following:

• A Magic xpa server name when the table resides on a remote host computer

• A complete path for the table or a URL for the XML file

• An explicit file name to override the Magic xpa default file name

For SQL databases, the actual name of the table is defined in the underlying database. This name is limited to database specifications. For example, in Oracle the database name is limited to 30 characters that must begin with a letter. In some DBMSs, the dot (.) character is not allowed.

Since the full name of an object consists of ‘Owner.Tablename’ or ‘Database.Owner.Tablename’, Magic xpa takes the owner of the table from the Data Source properties. If no owner was specified in the Owner property (in the Data Source Properties dialog box), then the owner is the user defined in the User Name property (in the Database Properties dialog box).

For ease of maintenance and portability, it is best not to set the table location here, in the Database column, but rather to store the location in the Database repository, because the Database repository is external to the application. By placing the table location specification outside of the application itself, the application is not "hardwired" to a particular environment.

See also:

How Do I Open a Data Source Using a Physical Name that is Different than the one Specified on the Data Repository?

How Do I Create Different XML Docs Based on the Same Schema?

Database

From this column, you can select a database from the selection list. The selection list is comprised of the databases that appear in the Database repository.

You cannot convert a data source of an XML database to a non-XML database table and vice versa, and you cannot override an existing XML source.

Note: If you change the database set in this property, the storage type of every field of the data source is reset based on the new database.

Folder

Displays the name of the folder in which the data source entry is located. You can create a folder by highlighting the Data Source icon on the Navigator pane and clicking F4. Folders let you group data source entries. For more information, see Folders.

Public Name

Defines the public name of the data source by which it will be called by an external call (using a Command Line, Magic xpa or the Internet). The public name must be unique within the repository.

Note:

• When you attempt to delete a data source (tables and XML sources), it is not automatically removed from the DBMS. For more information, see Data Source Deletion.

• Before you exit the created or edited Data Source row, it is recommended to check the syntax of the data source (Options/Check Syntax). This check can save you future debugging efforts.