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Within a given data file, a Resource is identified by three elements.
Resource Element |
Data Type |
Type |
unsigned long integer |
Number |
unsigned long integer |
Name |
null terminated string |
Within each file, you can identify a Resource by its unique combination of Type and Number, or by its Name.
Note: The Resource Name is not guaranteed to be unique.
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Resource Type gathers Resources into related groups. Resource Types in the range of 1 to 127 are reserved for use by FairCom. These are special Resources used by the FairCom DB, r-tree Report Generator, the d-tree application builder, FairCom DB API, and FairCom DB SQL. Resource Types in the range of 128 to 65536 are also reserved and are explicitly assigned to third party developers by FairCom. Resource Types numbered 65537 and above are available to any developer and can be assigned as desired.
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There are no restrictions on assigning Resource Numbers. They separate various Resources within a given Resource Type. When adding a Resource to a file, FairCom DB can assign the next available value for this Resource Type in the referenced table.
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You can use the Resource Name as a way to access Resources in a file instead of using the Type and Number. This can make application code more readable if you use a symbolic name rather than a pair of numbers. If you are adding a number of Resources to a data file over a period of time you may not know what Resource Number has been used, particularly as FairCom DB can automatically assign the next available Resource Number. Access via Resource Name is simpler than keeping track of what Resource Number has been assigned.
However, use caution when assigning Resource Names. FairCom DB cannot guarantee that each Resource Name is unique within a table. It is possible to add a duplicated Resource name to a table.
Resource Names are optional. They are not required for a Resource. The Resource Name is a null terminated character string of any length. FairCom recommends you do not make them too long. Resource Names starting with the character sequence "FC!" are reserved for use by FairCom. Resource Names starting with with the character sequence "RD!" are reserved for Resources assigned to third party developers by FairCom.
