ReleaseAnnouncement;¬DBEdit Announce and Release Notes
Hickman - Kenyon Systems, Inc
										3425 South 115th Street, Omaha, NE 68144
										(402)  697-1310  Fax: (402) 330-8613
										Nextmail: dbedit-info@hksys.com

Hickman - Kenyon Systems, Inc, developers of the OTTR patient tracking system for use in organ transplant programs, announces the commercial release of DBEdit.

DBEdit is a general purpose NeXTSTEP application for accessing DBKit databases. DBEdit provides quick, easy to use access to the tables, records, and values of a database independent of more structured mission critical custom applications which have specialized user interfaces.

DBEdit is intended for database developers, testers, administrators, power users, and others who need a convenient tool for exploring, maintaining, and manipulating DBKit based databases.

DBEdit Features Include:
DBKit Support - Generalized DBKit interface (use with Any DBKit Adaptor and database). DBEdit has been tested with Interbase (IBAdaptor), Sybase (SybaseAdaptor), Oracle (OracleAdaptor), and SQLBase (GuptaAdaptor).
Connection Management - Browser selection of available Adaptors and Databases, previously used database connections recorded for later quick connect.  DBEdit uses the database model to automatically configure its tables and columns.
Multiple Connections - Allows simultaneous connections to multiple databases, adaptors, servers, even servers from different vendors.
Table Browser - Lists all the tables available in the database.
Column Browser - Lists all the columns available in the database.
Multiple Tables - Simultaneous viewing of multiple tables.
Expressions - Graphical expression builder allows the selection of database records which meet a SQL "where" expression.
Relation Browser - Lists all of the relationships from a 'master' table to 'detail' tables. Select one or more table rows, then choose a relationship and DBEdit will fetch all the matching records from the detailed table.
Show Joins - Database table joins (one-to-one relations) can be followed as relationships and/or can be shown as additional columns in the master table.
Graphing - Easy to use, integrated graphing of data directly from DBKit tables
Multiple Columns - Graphing of any one or multiple columns.
Drag and Drop Exporting  - Simply drag and drop to export graphs to other NeXTSTEP documents.
Selectable X-axis - Choose a column to use as the X - axis and plot one column versus another.
Data Types - Numeric, Date, and String data may be graphed.
Automatic Legends - Legends generated according to data range.
Searching - Three types of searching are supported
Any column may be searched using an intelligent search engine with automatic keystroke completion.
Tables may be searched for values with normal or regular expression matching.
Records may be retrieved using DBKit Qualifiers consisting of limits on a particular column.
Sorting - Convenient user interface for sorting on any column in a table. (simple drag and drop control)
Copy & Paste - Simple copy/paste user interface for copying data into or out of a database tables, between tables, and databases, or into/out-of external documents.
Import - Controllable formats for importing field delimited data into records.
Export - Export tables to RTF suitable for inclusion in a larger document. Tables are broken across pages, with column, record, and page headings.
SQL Tool - Allows database queries and commands to be sent  directly to the database server. Provides a simple interface for vendor specific SQL operations which can only be done in command line.
Printing - Formatted multi-page printouts of large tables.

Getting Started:

- Unpack the DBEdit.pkg file onto your machine. You may want to install it in /LocalApps or $HOME/Apps.
- Start up DBEdit. You should receive a browser listing the DBKit adaptors available from your machine.
- Select an adaptor. You should then see a list of the DBModels which are installed on your machine that use this adaptor.
- Select a database and hit Connect.  You should receive a login panel for the adaptor you selected.
- Login. You should see two windows:
	· A connection panel which indicates you are connect to the database.
	· A  list of the tables in the database.
- Record the connection. Pressing the Record button will store the parameters of this connection for later quick reuse.
- Select a table. Pick a table from the table list to fetch records from that table.
- Look in the tools pop-up for access to most of the DBEdit features.
- Select a column (or several), hit the Graph item in the pop-up...
- Select a row (or several) in a master table, hit the Relate item in the pop-up, choose a relationship...
- Double click a data cell in the table, hit the Expression item in the pop-up button...

Welcome to DBEdit!

ReleaseNotes;¬Release Notes

(V.1.0.3 August 29, 1994)

At Release Time:

· Please be aware that the current version of DBEdit is configured to automatically e-mail crash reports to HKS via CrashCatcher from Whitelight Systems, Inc. DBEdit is configured to mail these reports by opening a Mail.app window with the contents and address filled in. HKS will use the contents of these crash reports along with any information you can provide about about what user actions led to the crash to debug and improve DBEdit. These reports may include small amounts of your database queries and HKS will treat them confidentially. If you object to HKS receiving a this crash log and report simply close the Mail window without sending.

· HKS is striving to improve DBEdit any comments suggestions and bug reports will be greatly appreciated; the preferred way to contact us is via e-mail at: dbedit-info@hksys.com.

New Features:

· Storing changes to a table is disabled after raising the fetch limit on that table.
This is an enforced workaround for a bug in storing after raising the fetch limit.

· A "Fetch with Expression" button has been added to the Tables window, allowing large tables to be queried without first doing a complete fetch.

· Improved support for the keyboard allowing arrow keys to select items in the Tables and Columns window. Also use the first letter of a table name to find it quickly.

Known Problems:

· Sorting of large database tables can be very time consuming and thrash your database server. DBEdit's factory defaults have auto sorting turned on. If you routinely deal with large database tables you may wish to turn this feature off in the preferences window.

· Ignoring errors considered dangerous. When DBKit detects certain DBKit errors it raises a panel suggesting the user Disconnect from the database. If this warning is Ignored the database connection, and indeed DBEdit, may become unstable. This panel will become most familiar with those experimenting with the database administration tool. If you encounter it in other circumstances it may indicate a bad or out of date DBModel file, or may indicate a potential DBEdit bug.

· DBKit primary key limitation. A limitation in the DBKit interferes with changing the values of primary keys in a database table. To change a primary key from DBEdit you must:
	- remove the old record
	- save the table
	- insert the record back in and change the primary keys.
	- save the table.
The record cut-and-paste feature can make this process fairly simple to follow.

· Very large (10KB+) commands/queries or return values in the SQL tool may cause DBEdit to crash.

Previous ReleaseNotes;¬Release Notes

(V.1.0 May 16, 1994)

Bugs Fixed:

· Minimizing all windows followed by a Disconnect from database crashed DBEdit.
· Raise Fetch Limit button in the fetch limit reached panel was not operational.
· Could not connect with default model.
· Removing the last record from a table now works.
· Turning on "connect on launch" for a database crashed DBEdit on the next start-up.
·  Changed database connection code. Stopped many bugs re: new database connections, and allows multi-connections to the same database.

New Features:

·  DBEdit now understands projections. Enable the fetch primary keys only option in the preference panel. Open a table, use the project tool to selectively add more columns.
·  DBEdit now understands relationships: The ability to follow one-to-one and one-to-many relationships is provided by the Relate panel which lists all of the relationships from the current (master) table. Selecting a relationship will then show the corresponding records in the detailed table.
·  A graphical builder for queries allows arbitrary SQL like select statement "where" clauses to be constructed. The table is then fetched using this expression to limit the records shown.
·  Database administration SQL window sends explicit database language commands to the database server. Multiple statements may be seperated by a semicolon.
·  Arbitrary database model files can be openned by command-dragging the model file onto the application. This feature is also accessible from a open model file button in the new database connection window.
·  Context sensitive help now supported.
·  Values may now be changed, or fields made NULL from the inspector panel.
·  Import panel now handles new lines in quoted string fields.
·  New expression window provides for the construction of powerful database selection statements.
·  Time out on slow database connections, time can be set in preference panel.
·  Disable menu buttons when appropriate.
·  Database log window for viewing all database activity generated by DBEdit.
·  NXImages in database columns can be viewed.

ReleaseAnnouncement;¬DBEdit Demo Release Policy

Hickman - Kenyon Systems, Inc, releases some versions of DBEdit for demonstration purposes. The included license usually expires after a specified date, after which the software will only allow 3 minute sessions.

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