c-treeDB API for C# - Developers Guide

Working with Tables

A database may contain multiple tables, and a table may belong to multiple databases. Tables created using the c-treeDB .NET interface are kept as files with the extension .dat. Indexes are stored in separate files with the extension .idx. The general process to create and use a c-treeDB .NET table and its associated indexes is as follows:

Create a table object
Add or insert fields
Add indexes
Add index segments
Create the table
Open the table
Operate on records

Before you can work with an existing table, the table must be opened as follows:

Create a table object
Open the table
Operate on records

With c-treeDB .NET, it is possible to modify an existing table. The general process to modify a table after it has been created is as follows:

Open a table
Make changes to:
- Fields and/or
- Indexes and/or
- Segments
Call the alter table method CTTable.Alter().

More details on this process are described in Altering a Table.

In general, the table creation is done once in the application; the table is opened, and the data is added in a separate routine. During table creation, besides the table layer itself, three c-treeDB .NET layers will be directly involved: the fields, indexes and segments. These layers are only directly involved when the table is being created, or in the event the table structure is modified. When records are being added to or searched in the table, these layers are not relevant, but the record layer is crucial.

With this in mind, this section on Tables discusses these layers in the appropriate order:

Table creation using fields, indexes, and segments.
Table parameters and properties.
Opening and manipulating tables.

In This Section

Creating a Table Object