Manifold.net
Database Commander
by: Glenn Letham, October 1999
editor@geocomm.com
The makers of Manifold GIS bring you
the Database Commander. Commander is billed as a universal command and
control console for working with almost any database. With the Database
Commander, users are given the ability to browse almost any kind of
database, easily and intuitively locate data, analyze and query data,
generate statistics and output the results in a report, perform SQL, and
“harvest” data from websites for use within a database environment.
Starting Database Commander
From the first time the database commander is launched, users will be
greeted with a familiar, user friendly environment to work in. The first
message to greet users is an option to create a blank database, open
existing database, or open ODBC source.
First window to greet users
For users wishing to use Commander to manipulate existing data, The
Database Commander supports many database formats directly including:
- MS Access and Access 2000
- DBase III, IV, V
- Paradox 3.x, 4.x, 5.x
- FoxPro 2.0, 2.5, 2.6, 3.0
- Excel 3, 4, 5, 97
- Lotus WK1, 2, 3
- ASCII text
- HTML
A very appealing feature provided by Database Commander is the ability to export a database to html format. With one click of the mouse you can easily export an entire database or a selection to an html table. Conversely, you can open html tables in Commander where you can then read, sort, analyze, search using SQL and then output the results to a database format… slick!
Here's a typical table commonly found in html documents.
| Place | Latitude | Longitude | Altitude (m) | Altitude (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escrick | 53N | 1W | 14 | 45 |
| Esgair-geiliog | 52N | 3W | 168 | 551 |
| Esher | 51N | 0W | 31 | 101 |
| Esholt | 53N | 1W | 72 | 236 |
| Eshton | 53N | 2W | 136 | 446 |
| Esh | 54N | 1W | 138 | 452 |
| Eskadale | 57N | 4W | 107 | 351 |
| Eskcleth | 54N | 2W | 303 | 994 |
| Eskdalemuir | 55N | 3W | 237 | 777 |
| Eskragh | 54N | 7W | 155 | 508 |
| Eskra | 54N | 7W | 155 | 508 |
| Esprick | 53N | 2W | 9 | 29 |
| Essendine | 52N | 0W | 34 | 111 |
| Essendon | 51N | 0W | 78 | 255 |
| Eston | 54N | 1W | 152 | 498 |
The image below shows the table from above as it appears in the
Database Commander. Notice that each column title has been correctly
listed as the name for the appropriate data field. Conversely, it is just
as simply to turn an existing database into an html table for publishing
on the web.
HTML table imported to Database Commander
Here's an example of a dBase file that was opened in commander, several records were selected out and exported to html format. Note, the results haven't been tidied up, however, use your imagination and you'll soon realize how easy it will be for you to summarize data and publish the results on your website.
For users needing to work with data from a variety of sources, or
require saving data in a number of different database formats, the
Database Commander will definitely be a useful tool.
Navigation and Viewing Options
The product is relatively simple to navigate, (particularly for
experienced database users) and comes with numerous predefined
mathematical and statistical functions that are very easily applied to
selections from your data. Pull-down menus make this foolproof.
Commander uses the Database Tree diagram to navigate through the structure
of a database system and to choose a database item to display. The item
may be more complex, such as a table or SQL query that displays as a
table, or it might be a simple item such as an individual field within a
table.
Right-clicking on just about anything in the Database Commander pops up a
new menu with options of things that you can do. Common functions
available include, Copy, Paste, New, Delete, More Like this, Find, etc…
Several different viewing options are provided. By default, when opening a
database, the data is presented in a MS Access-like tabular view with a MS
explorer-like directory tree presented as well, displaying the directory
and full path where the database is physically located, followed by a
listing of fields.
Commander has a “Selection Pane” which is a separate window where
selected records can be viewed separately from the parent table. There is
also an “Analysis Pane” which can be opened. (All panes are resizable
and all toolbars may be repositioned). Here you view an analysis bar where
you can easily perform statistical analysis on your data by selecting
appropriate values in the Field, Operation, Parameter, and context option
bars. By selecting the Tools/Options/Auto refresh ON option any changes to
the database will be automatically reflected in the analysis pane. The
following figure shows you how the different viewing panes appear in the
Database Commander.
Data, Selection, and Analysis panes
Commander has a number of ways in which you can edit data. All functions can be applied to either the entire database or a selection (ever accidentally updated all records in Dbase when performing an update?). Commander lets you Search and Replace values, much like you would in any word processor or text editor. Copy and pasting can be done in a number of ways including copying an entire column into another column or even copying records from one Commander window pane into a pane from another commander session (as long as the data structure is compatible of course).
Another slick analytical feature provided by The Database Commander is the Transformer toolbar. The toolbar works on the entire database by default, however, it can be applied only to selected records. Its purpose is to provide easy access to mathematical functions that can be applied to numeric fields. Select a Field, Operator, Parameter, then Apply. The Transformer will then automatically update the database with the new values.
Transformer Toolbar - this selection will Multiply the Age_18_25 Field by 1.5
Data analysis
Database Commander provides users with several ways to conveniently analyze your data.
Analysis bars are created within the Analysis pane and report the results of statistical functions or records that contain a particular string.
"More like this" is an option available by right-clicking on any cell. Commander uses fuzzy logic to locate records that are like the one you are looking at.
Manifold Database Commander includes full SQL. Structured Query Language (SQL) is a language used in querying, updating, and managing relational databases. SQL can be used to retrieve, sort, and filter specific data to be extracted from the database. The system includes Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML) components that are used to manipulate the structure of the database and the data it contains.
For the casual user, Database Commander provides facilities such as Transformer Toolbar that are easier to use than some classic SQL/DDL facilities such as update queries. With the transformer toolbar, users simply select a numeric field from a pick list and an action or mathematical function from an extensive predefined list (ie. Sum, Average, Cos, Log, etc...). Hit the Apply button, and the operation is applied to either the entire database, or to a selection. It doesn't get much easier than this!
The formula builder helps users create ActiveX VB scripting formulas
that work on records.
Database structures can be easily altered by simply editing values in the
database tree displayed on the left side of the main pane. Items can even
be copied and pasted from database trees between different Commander
sessions.
About Database Commander
Database Commander is an excellent tool for anyone working with data in a
multiple formats. Novice database users can quickly read, query, analyze,
and export data, without having to learn another custom programming
language (although some knowledge of SQL would be useful). Mathematical
and statistical functions are easily applied to data , while custom
queries and selections are easily made. For anyone looking to get up and
running with a low cost database I don't think it can get much easier than
this!
The Database Commander comes on CD (in some very slick packaging I
might add!) and a 250+ page MS Word document is included for those of you
who like a printed manual for late night reading! A Bonus Data Set is also
included with the product. The data includes detailed demographic data for
US Metro Areas, US States, and World Countries. Also included with the
data are complete USA counties 1996 and city and county databook 1994 data
sets from the US Bureau of Census. There are over 4000 fields of data
included! Database Commander is available from Manifold.net for $145.
Related Web Links
Database
Commander Home
On-line
user guide
On-line
store
www.manifold.net
