Data Sources in OpenOffice.org

Apache OpenOffice Developer's Guide

Database Access

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• Architecture
• Example: Querying the Bibliography Database

• Data Sources in Apache OpenOffice API

• DataSources

• The DataSource Service
• Queries

• Adding and Editing Predefined Queries
• Runtime Settings For Predefined Queries
• The SingleSelectQueryComposer
• The SQLQueryComposer

• Forms and Reports
• Document Links
• Tables and Columns

• Connections

• Connecting Through a DataSource
• Connecting Using the DriverManager and a Database URL
• Connecting Through a Specific Driver
• Driver Specifics

• The SDBC Driver for JDBC
• The SDBC Driver for ODBC
• The SDBC Driver for Adabas D
• The SDBC Driver for ADO
• The SDBC Driver for dBase
• The SDBC Driver for Flat File Formats
• The SDBC Driver for Apache OpenOffice Calc Files
• The SDBC Driver for address books
• The SDBC Driver for embedded HSQL databases

• Connection Pooling
• Piggyback Connections

• Manipulating the Data

• The RowSet Service

• Usage
• Events and Other Notifications
• Clones of the RowSet Service

• Statements

• Creating Statements
• Inserting and Updating Data
• Getting Data from a Table

• Result Sets

• Retrieving Values from Result Sets
• Moving the Result Set Cursor
• Using the getXXX Methods
• Scrollable Result Sets
• Modifiable Result Sets
• Update
• Insert
• Delete
• Seeing Changes in Result Sets

• ResultSetMetaData
• Using Prepared Statements
• PreparedStatement From DataSource Queries

• Database Design

• Using DDL to Change the Database Design
• Using SDBCX to Access the Database Design

• Catalog Service
• Table Service
• Column Service
• Index Service
• Key Service
• View Service
• Group Service
• User Service
• The Descriptor Pattern
• Adding an Index
• Creating a User
• Adding a Group

• Using DBMS Features

• Stored Procedures

• Writing Database Drivers

• SDBC Driver
• Driver Service
• Connection Service
• XDatabaseMetaData Interface
• Statements
• Support Scalar Functions

• Open Group CLI Numeric Functions
• Open Group CLI String Functions
• Open Group CLI Time and Date Functions
• Open Group CLI System Functions
• Open Group CLI Conversion Functions

• Handling Unsupported Functionality
• Extending Database Drivers

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DatabaseContext

In the OpenOffice.org graphical user interface (GUI), define Open Office database files using the database application OpenOffice.org Base, and register them in the Tools - Options - OpenOffice.org Database - Databasesdialog in order to access them in the database browser. A data source has five main aspects. It contains the following:

• The general information necessary to connect to a data source.
• Settings to control the presentation of tables, and queries.
• SQL query definitions.
• Database forms.
• Database reports.

From the API perspective, these functions are mirrored in the com.sun.star.sdb.DatabaseContext service. The database context is a container for data sources. It is a singleton, that is, it may exist only once in a running OpenOffice.org API instance and can be accessed by creating it at the global service manager of the office.

The Dialog "Database Registration"

The database context is the entry point for applications that need to connect to a data source already defined in the OpenOffice.org API. Additionally, it is used to create new data sources and add them to OpenOffice.org API. The following figure shows the relationship between the database context, the data sources and the connection over a data source.

com.sun.star.sdb.DatabaseContext

The database context is used to get a data source that provides a com.sun.star.sdb.Connection through its com.sun.star.sdb.XCompletedConnection interface.

Existing data sources are obtained from the database context at its interfaces com.sun.star.container.XNameAccess and com.sun.star.container.XEnumeration. Their methods getByName() and createEnumeration() deliver the com.sun.star.sdb.DataSource services defined in the OpenOffice.org GUI.

Since OpenOffice.org 2.0, getByName() can also be used to obtain data sources that are not registered. You only need to pass a URL pointing to a valid database file, which is then automatically loaded by the context.

The code below shows how to print all available registered data sources:

  // prints all data sources
  public static void printDataSources(XMultiServiceFactory _rMSF) throws com.sun.star.uno.Exception {
      // retrieve the DatabaseContext and get its com.sun.star.container.XNameAccess interface
      XNameAccess xNameAccess = (XNameAccess)UnoRuntime.queryInterface(
          XNameAccess.class, _rMSF.createInstance("com.sun.star.sdb.DatabaseContext"));
 
      // print all DataSource names
      String aNames [] = xNameAccess.getElementNames();
      for (int i=0;i<aNames.length;++i)
          System.out.println(aNames[i]);
  }

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