Database Reference
In-Depth Information
ducing and reading reports, so you should focus on that aspect of your notes. You should
also review the report samples you assembled during the analysis process.
When you and the group meet, consider the following points to help you identify view re-
quirements.
•
Review your notes with the group.
In many instances, talking about a specific topic
will spark an idea for a new or required view. For example, someone may realize a
need for a view during a discussion of mission objectives.
•
Review the data entry, report, and presentation samples you gathered during the
early stages of the design process.
Examining these samples, especially summary-
style reports, could easily illuminate the need for certain types of views.
•
Examine the tables and the subjects they represent.
Some individuals in the group
may identify the need for a view based solely on a specific subject. If someone
mentions a subject, such as Employees, it may cause someone else to say, “We def-
initely need a view that restricts certain employee data for confidentiality reasons.”
•
Analyze the table relationships.
You'll most likely identify a number of multitable
views that you should create for many of the relationships. Several of these views
will coincide with views you identified for the report samples.
•
Study the business rules.
As you already know, you can use a validation view to
enforce a rule that imposes a constraint on a particular field's range of values.
You and the group should be able to identify a number of views by going over the items on
this list. After you've identified as many of the required views as possible, your next task
is to define them.
Defining Views
You'll now define each view that you've identified using the appropriate tables and fields.
Review the relationship diagrams to identify which tables and fields you need for the
view's structure. When you've determined what you need, define the view and record it in
a view diagram.
Forexample,sayyou'vedeterminedthatyoucanuseaviewforthereportshownin
Figure
