Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Thebeststrategyforthistaskistodefineasmanyofthespecifications asyoucan(ascom-
pletely as possible) and then work with the participants to complete the rest. As you work
withafield'sspecifications,useyourbestjudgmenttodefinethesettingsforeachelement.
Don't worry if your settings seem slightly incorrect or if you have difficulty providing set-
tingsforsomeoftheelements—you're goingtoreviewthemwiththeparticipants anyway.
Afteryou'vedefinedspecifications forallofthefieldsthatarefamiliartoyou,beginmeet-
ing with the participants to work on specifications for the remaining fields.
Your first order of business during the
initial
meeting is to explain the various elements
within a field specification and make sure that everyone understands them as much as pos-
sible. Providing the participants with a brief and succinct education on the specification's
elements gives them the knowledge they need to help you define a specification properly.
(In subsequent meetings, just review the elements to make certain that everyone remem-
bers what they represent.)
Next, review all of the specifications you've defined and ask the participants whether the
settingsfortheelementsaresuitableandcorrect.Insomecases,theparticipantswillreveal
new information about a field that will affect that field's specification. For example, a par-
ticipant may remember (prompted by some topic in the discussion) that there is a specific
set of values that has always been used for a particular field; therefore, you set the field's
Range of Values element to reflect this new information. Make sure that you examine each
part of the specification and then move on to the next specification when the participants
have no further suggestions for refinement. Repeat this process for each specification.
Now, work with the participants on the specifications you were unable to define or com-
plete. Try to work with the people who are
most
familiar with the fields under discussion
because they are likely to know what settings should be used for the Logical Elements cat-
egory. Identify the appropriate element settings for each field and mark them on the Field
Specificationssheet.Afteryou'vedefinedspecificationsforeveryfieldinthedatabase,the
entire process is complete.
Thedesignofthenewdatabaseisnowclosetocompletion.Inthenextchapter,you'lllearn
howtoestablish
relationships
betweenthetablesinthedatabase.Relationshipsareimport-
ant because they allow a view to draw data from multiple tables simultaneously.
Case Study
NowthatyouhavealltheappropriatefieldsassignedtothetablesintheMike'sBikesdata-
base, it's time to define field specifications for each field. Before you meet with Mike and
his staff,youdefine as many field specifications as youcan. None ofthe tables are unusual
inanyway,andthefieldsareprettystraightforward,soyouhavelittledifficultyindefining
