| Up to this point you have become very familiar with just how easy it is to create a data store and establish a connection to it using Dreamweaver MX. As you progress through the coming chapters, you will see how easy it is to use Dreamweaver MX to extract information from that data store. NOTE A data store is a generic term given to information that is housed within any number of files, including Excel spreadsheets, databases, and even simple text files like XML.
Although Dreamweaver MX provides a simple process for the extraction of data from your database, you may quickly find your application growing far beyond the scope of simple data extraction. The kind of application you eventually build will have a direct impact on how complex your use of a data-access language will be. Dreamweaver MX provides a simple and easy-to-use process for commonly used data extraction and filtering tasks, but if you truly want to get the most out of your application, you should become familiar with the topics discussed within this chapter. This chapter focuses on the language of today's database. Structured Query Language (SQL, pronounced "sequel") was established in the 1970s as a way of interacting with current database technologies and the tables that made them up. With roughly 30 keywords, SQL quickly became the language standard for simple and complex database operations. The keywords that you construct, also known as statements, range from a simple few to a complex string of subqueries and joins. Although this chapter cannot begin to cover all there is to know on the subject, it can provide you with an introduction to beginning and advanced SQL statements, clauses, joins, subqueries, and action queries. |
