Thank you! That made it perfectly clear! So, I'll add my new keys, delete the old rules that I was using instead, and leave the Indexes alone!
More questions to come, I'm sure! Lin On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:01:19 -0500, "A. Razzak Memon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > At 11:14 AM 1/7/2008, Lin MacDonald wrote: > > >I was going to add a new table and make one of it's keys a Foreign key. > >That's when I discovered there are no keys in my database. I don't know > >if I did that deliberately 15 years ago or if maybe it wasn't an option > >then, or I just didn't know any better, but instead of keys, I have > >multiple Indexes on various tables. So, what's the best way to handle > >this? Should I just add keys? Do I then discard the Indexes? Do I keep > >both? Will adding keys make any of my forms or reports do odd things? > > Lin, > > Here's a quick lesson on INDEXes and KEYS (Constraints) in R:BASE: > > INDEXes: > > An index provides a pointer to the location of a column value in each > row of a table, which allows R:BASE to search for rows of data much > faster than searching rows sequentially. In general, R:BASE processes > an operation that contains an indexed column faster than it processes > one without. > > The R:BASE index is similar to an index in a book; both indexes allow > you to find information faster. Instead of searching through > a book page by page, you can look up the topic in the index and find > the exact page number of the topic. Similarly, you can apply indexes > to columns so that R:BASE finds data faster. When you apply an index > to a column, R:BASE records the location of every value in that column. > Then, when you look for or sort information in the column, R:BASE uses > the index to find the rows you need quickly. For example, you want to > list the bonuses that employee 102 earned; if the EmpID column in the > SalesBonus table is indexed, R:BASE finds and searches that column > faster. Indexes are most useful when you have tables with many rows. > This means that by indexing the appropriate columns, you can speed up > your applications. Processes that formerly took 20 minutes or more may > be completed in only a few seconds. An index on an R:BASE column speeds > up access to a row of data in much the same way that an index in a book > speeds up access to a page. > > To understand how indexes increase processing speed, it's helpful to > know how R:BASE stores a database. An R:BASE database consists of four > files; each file has a different file extension - RB1, RB2, RB3, and > RB4. File 1 contains the definition of the database structure; file 2 > contains the data in the database; file 3 contains the indexes to the > data stored in file 2, and file 4 contains the large binary object > data (LOB). LOBs include graphic files or large text data. R:BASE also > stores forms, reports, and labels as LOBs in File 4. When you include > an indexed column in a WHERE clause, R:BASE uses the index in file 3 > to find the location of each row in the table in file 2. Without an > indexed column, R:BASE must sequentially search each row in that table > in file 2 to find the data. By sorting an index list, you give R:BASE > nearly instantaneous access to the specific index reference to a column > name. > > An indexed column improves the performance of the following commands, > clauses, or operations: > > · CREATE VIEW > · DELETE DUPLICATES > · INTERSECT > · JOIN > · Lookups in forms or reports > · PROJECT > · RULES > · SELECT (when it includes a WHERE clause) > · SUBTRACT > · UNION > · VIEWS > · WHERE ... > > Additional References: From The Edge: http://www.razzak.com/fte/ > 01. Topic: Indexing Explained > Date: 06/20/2007 > > KEYS: > > One of the strengths of R:BASE is to provide automatic data integrity and > referential integrity using constraints. In legacy versions of R:BASE, > data integrity and referential integrity had to be enforced through rules > and programming. Constraints are a part of the database structure and are > automatically enforced. > > Types and Definitions: > > . Primary Key > . Foreign Key > . Not Null > . Unique Key > > Complete details and additional references: > From The Edge: http://www.razzak.com/fte/ > 01. Topic: All About Constraints in R:BASE 7.5 and Turbo V-8 for Windows > Date: 08/21/2006 > 02. Topic: Using Enhanced CASCADE Options in R:BASE > Date: 05/21/2007 > > Hope that helps! > > Very Best R:egards, > > Razzak > >
