Not that you asked, but why not make the elements all application resources of a custom type? Then you wouldn't have to thave the .pdb file at all--just a single .prc file. Static data like a periodic table seems to lend itself to this approach. The atomic number could correspond to the resource ID number.
Custom resources are a snap with ResEdit on the Mac. I'm not familiar enough with the GCC tools to know how hard/easy it would be under Solaris. Something to think about though. Regards, - Jeff John Marshall wrote: > Daniel Rubin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I want to create an application that > > uses static data so I want to create a .pdb file that would be installed > > with the .prc file. How do you create something like a database of all > > periodic elements that would be used in a periodic table application in > > a development evironment? I am using GCC/prc-tools on a Solaris system > > to build the application. I wouldn't want to check to see if the > > database is there and if not build it using static data within my > > application would I? > > Actually I've long wondered why people don't do just that: create their > default data databases with a Palm OS program. > > For a database full of pretty much constant data like your periodic table, > you could write a Palm OS program to construct the data, like you suggest. > The clever bit is that this program is not (part of) your application, but > a separate utility that you run as part of your build process. (It would > share the code that does the database accesses with your application.) > You could automate it so that Poser would run the utility and then export > the database. This way you don't duplicate the code that knows what > your records look like, and you don't need to know the .pdb format at all. > > When you have an app (like the PIM apps) that has UI to edit records and > create new ones, you could just run the app on Poser, type in the data, > and export the database. You don't have to write any extra code at all! > > John -- For information on using the ACCESS Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.access-company.com/developers/forums/
