Common Terms

With Click, Drag, and Drill™, preparing data for a report, designing a report, and running a report are all easy tasks. A few basic terms and concepts will help in understanding the steps involved in performing these tasks. Understanding the relationship between these terms and concepts will also make creating and running reports easier.

Alias: The name given to particular table or data element to better identify it. Often, an alias is used to replace the sometimes-cumbersome database name (i.e., GLK_KEY_MSTR or GLK_KEY_PART01) with a more familiar name (i.e., GLKEYS or GLFUND).
Border: Signifies that the bounding box surrounding a field or region of a report will be graphically displayed on the printed report.
Can Grow: This option is used with text fields to indicate that the field box can grow in size as the size of the text grows (see Multi-Line).
cdd.online: cdd.online is the application through which reports are viewed on a Web browser.
Column (see also Field): This refers to the individual elements that comprise a table in the database.
Data Dictionary: See System Catalog.
Data Row: A data row is a collection of columns, and their corresponding data, that comprise one pass through the report data. There are many data rows in a CDD report.
Data Source: A set of parameters that define a network connection to a database. This includes the name of the host machine, the name of the database, the protocol used to connect to the database and information that identifies the user. Data source is also known as "connect source" and "database connection."
Data: The actual values that are stored in the database.
Database: A logical collection of data. This can be the entire host database or the CDD System Catalog.
Default Value: The value that a field will contain after it is initialized, but prior to receiving user input, calculated input, or data from the database.
Description: Most items within CDD have an associated description. The description allows the user to convey detailed information about a report, a field or other item.
Design: See Report Design.
Design Shape: Graphical objects (rectangles and lines) that can be placed into a report design.
Display Size: The default size of the field box used when a field is placed onto the report design.
Drill Down: A method that allows dynamic linking of reports. After one report has been displayed to the screen, the user can follow a drill down to view a more detailed analysis of the data row.
Edit Mask: Character string that controls the format of the data in a report. For example, the character string for a phone number, as stored in the database, might be 8005551111. An edit mask of (###) ###-#### could be used to cause the string to appear in the report as (800) 555-1111.
Export: Allows report data to be saved in a format that can be use by other programs such as spreadsheet and Internet browser.
Field: An individual item on a report design. Each field has an associated edit mask, description and field box.
Field Box: When a particular field within the report design is selected for formatting purposes, i.e., changing size or formatting text, a field box is drawn around the selected field. This rectangle will not be drawn on the printed report, but it does define the area in which the data will be displayed.
Footer: A region of the report that follows the detail region. Sorted footers, page footers, and/or a final footer may appear at the end of the report.16
Functional Security: This CDD-specific security allows the administrator to define which features within CDD can be accessed by a given user. An example would be the ability to limit access to the "delete report" option.
Functions: Actions that can be performed during the execution of a report in order to generate specific results. For example, a function exists to determine the number of days between two dates.
Graphs: Also known as "charts," graphs display data retrieved from the database in a graphic manner. Pie graphs, bar graphs, line graphs and others can all be added to CDD reports.
Group (see also Sort): A group, or grouping, identifies which fields in the data row define the level of detail within the report. Many groups may be in a single report design.
Header: A region of the report that precedes the detail region. Sorted headers, page headers, and/or a general header may appear at the beginning of the report.
Heading: The text that appears above a field when it is placed in the report using the report wizard.
Host Name: The name of the computer that is hosting the database.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): HTML is used to view text and graphics on a web browser. CDD reports can be converted to HTML and viewed via cdd.online.
INE: A connectivity program required when using the ODBC Driver. This program resides on the PC.
Information Category: A logical grouping of one or more tables from the System Catalog, as well as user-defined fields, macros and system fields. Information categories are used to define the data sets available to a report design.
Inner Join: A relationship used in an information category that joins two (or more) tables. The tables can be joined on one or more columns. The relationship is such that the resulting data row includes only the records where the joining columns are equivalent in both tables.
IP Address: The address of a network computer. Generally, this address is associated with a name (see Host Name).
ISTAR: A connectivity program required when using the ODBC Driver. This program resides on the host machine.
Item Name: A name that refers to a report item. This name must be unique within the information category used for the report.
Join: A relationship established between two (or more) tables in an information category (see also Inner Join, Outer Join and Information Category).
Literal: A user-supplied value. This can be a character or string of characters, a numeric value or a date value. Generally used to specify the scope of a report (see Selection Criteria).
Load/Unload: The Load/Unload utility, found in Tools, Load/Unload from the main menu, is used to move CDD reports from one database to another. In this way, CDD reports created at one location can be used by someone with the same database at a second location. The unload function copies aIreport (together with its information category) to a new network location. The load function copies an "unloaded" report from the network to the desired database.
Macro: A statement or set of statements in the CDD macro language that performs some action. Macros can exist in both the Report Design and the Information Category. In either case, macros are generally associated with a specific region. The exception is the "Init" macro which is executed once at the beginning of a report. If attached to a region, it is executed once for every data row that is formatted in the region (see also Function, Region, Literal).
Matches: A comparison operator that allows for pattern matching, including wildcard (*) searches.
Multi-Line: Specifies that a given field may grow to cover more than one line on a report.
Null: A value that indicates the lack of data for a field on a report. NULL is not equivalent to blanks or spaces or zero.
ODBC: A PC standard for database access (Open Database Connectivity) (see also ODBC Manager and ODBC Driver).
ODBC Driver: A DBMS-specific implementation of the ODBC standard.
ODBC Manager: The Microsoft System Utility for integrating ODBC drivers with the Windows® Operating System.
OpenLink: A vendor for ODBC drivers. D DRILL 19
Outer Join: A relationship used in an information category that joins two (or more) tables. The relationship is directional and conditional, in that there is a "from" table and a "to" table. All data in the "from" table will be returned regardless of condition, but only data in the "to" table which meets the join condition will be returned. The relationship is such that the resulting data row includes all of the data in the "from" table and only the data in the "to" table where the joining column is equivalent in both tables.
Page Eject: An action specified in a report that causes a page break to be generated. Page Eject can be specified to occur either before or after a specific region on the report design.
Picklist: A picklist is a user-defined set of information from which a particular item can be retrieved for inclusion in the report. User-defined picklists can be attached to any region of the report. Picklists are used in conjunction with selection criteria prompts; they can be defined for user fields, system fields, or generic selection prompts. Picklists allow the user to offer a picklist of selectable data, as in "all the Organization Keys within the General Fund."
Prompt: The request for literal values from the user. Prompts are specified in the selection criteria and appear to the user at run-time.
Protocol: The network communication standard used when connecting to the host machine. Generally, the protocol is TCP/IP.
Query: Any request for data made to the database. Often a report is referred to as a query.
Region: Any number of lines of printable space on the report triggered to print with the occurrence of a particular sort grouping, or a particular aspect of the report. There are seven types of regions: Start of Report, Page Header, Group Header, Detail, Group Footer, Page Footer and End of Report. There can be multiple copies of each region on a report design. CDD is regionally driven, meaning that events occur as regions occur (e.g., macros, database lookups, sub reports, graphs, etc., execute when and if the region they are attached to occurs.)
Report: The formatted data generated by executing a report design.
Report Design: The layout of regions and fields that designate how a report will be generated.
Report Field (Database Item): An item from the Information Category, or a report-specific user-defined field.
Report Wizard: A step-by-step report creation tool that allows the user to create a basic report in a short amount of time.
Request Broker: A connectivity program required when using the OpenLink ODBC Driver. This program resides on the host machine.
Selection Criteria cdd.online <4.3: The statement or statements that specify what values are desired for a given report. Specifically limits the amount of data returned from the database by assigning particular data attributes a value. Example: Org. Key is equal to 101010 and Post Date is equal to 11/16/2000.
Selection Rectangle: Using the mouse, the user can click on the design and drag a selection rectangle around one or more objects to select them.
Service: The name of the remote service that an Informix DBMS uses to "listen" for queries to the database.
Sort: The order in which the data set for a report is arranged; sorts can be ascending or descending. There can be multiple sort levels in a single report design.
Sort Level: A specific sort within a report design.
SQL: Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard language used to query a database. Within CDD, the SQL statement can be viewed at both the information category level and at the report design level. The SQL at the report design level can be viewed after running the report to the screen and includes any selection criteria specified by the user.
Static Text Field: A literal character string on a report design. All static text fields are displayed "as-is" on the report.
Sub-Report: A report nested within another report. A sub-report may contain one or more queries, based upon information categories, or SQL, each being selected and sorted independently.
System Catalog: This is the structure that Click, Drag and Drill uses as a road map to the organization of the database.
Table: A collection of columns in the database or System Catalog. Note that a table in the System Catalog is a mapping to a table in the physical database. It may or may not contain all the same columns as the actual table.
TCP/IP: A standard network protocol that allows computers of different types to communicate via a network.
Total Fields: A total field is a field that is specified as generating a total on a report. See Total Types for all the available options.
Total Types: A total field may be one of the following: None (specifics that a field in a footer region is not a Total Field), Total, Count, Average, Variance, Standard Deviation, Maximum Value or Minimum Value.
User-Defined Field: A field created and named by the user. Once created, the field can be used on a report design just like any other field.
Winsock: A Microsoft Windows® Operating System standard designed to allow network communication via UNIX style sockets. The standard requires an implementation of the winsock.dll library. The standard is generally implemented by network software vendors, although some applications can provide their own. It is critical that there be only one implementation per PC to avoid communication problems.