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Yes; since dbWindow is an MDL application that runs inside of MicroStation, it will interface with any database that can be configured for and connected to MicroStation.
Download this FAQ: dbms50.txt
There are five MicroStation environment variables to be concerned with when configuring for a database. MicroStation has provided sample database configuration files that set these environment variables to their proper values. There is one configuration file for each corresponding database server and the files are located in the \ustation\config\database product directory. The file names should be something like:
Initially, these files are set up to configure MicroStation for the example databases delivered with MicroStation. However, these files can be used as templates for creating new files that configure MicroStation for other databases. Then, the new database configuration file can simply be included into either an existing project (ex. \ustation\config\project\default.pcf) or user (ex. \ustation\config\user\default.ucf) configuration file by adding a line similar to:
NOTE: Be aware that the last instance of an environment variable takes precedence over any other previous settings. Therefore, make sure none of the five database environment variables are being set again after the include statement shown above.
Alternatively, instead of manually setting the five environment variables by editing a configuration file, the environment variables can be set interactively through the MicroStation interface. First, use either the MicroStation 'User | Workspace | Modify Project Configuration...' or 'User | Workspace | Modify User Configuration...' pull-down menu option to open the MicroStation 'Configuration Variables' dialog box. Then four of the environment variables can be set by selecting the 'Database' category and the fifth environment variable (MS_DGNAPPS) can be found by searching for it in the 'All (Alphabetical)' category. In order to show some example settings, the environment variables below show an Xbase configuration.
Database Files (MS_DBASE)
This environment variable should be set to the location of your database files and the required MicroStation database files for the selected database. For example, if you are configuring for Xbase and want to use the GIS example, this variable will be set to:
NOTE: If you are using the Xbase database server, the directory where the database files are located will be the string you enter for the db= command to attach the database. For example, to attach the MicroStation delivered GIS example database enter the command: db=gis.
Server Loader (MS_SERVER)
This environment variable should be set to the MDL application that will load the database server. For Xbase it should be set to:
dbload
NOTE: If the dbload.ma application is not in the MicroStation \mdlapps directory, then it may be in the \mdlsys\asneeded directory and thus the path information should be specified.
Database Server (MS_DBEXT)
This environment variable should be set to the database server application. For Xbase running under NT it will be set to:
\ustation\database\xbase\xbasesql.exe
For Xbase running under DOS it will be set to:
\ustation\database\xbase\xbasesql.exp
NOTE: Database server applications should be found in their corresponding \database\... directory.
Database Linkage (MS_LINKTYPE)
This environment variable should be set to the linkage types you want the server to recognize. Valid link types are XBASE, ORACLE, DMRS, INFORMIX, ODBC, IX, and RIS. The first link type listed is important because it indicates the type of linkages created when writing to the file. Subsequent link types tells the server to read those linkages as well. To configure the server to write (and read) Xbase linkages and to read Informix and DMRS linkages, set the variable to:
xbase;ix;dmrs
MS_DGNAPPS
This variable should be set to:
server
NOTE: If the server.ma application is not in the MicroStation \mdlapps directory, then it may be in the \mdlsys\asneeded directory and thus the path information should be specified.
Open the MicroStation 'Connect to Database' dialog by selecting the 'Settings | Database | Connect...' pull-down menu option. Then select the appropriate database server and enter the appropriate connect string (do not include the db= in the connect string).
Xbase
For the Xbase server, a data dictionary must exist for the database. A data dictionary utility is delivered with MicroStation and is located in the corresponding MicroStation database server directory (ex. the dBase IV utility is located in the \ustation\database\xbase directory). A copy of the build.bat file delivered with MicroStation in the \ustation\database\xbase\examples\gis directory can be used as a template to modify the table names and index file names to match the appropriate values for a new database. The first line of build.bat is required since it initializes the data dictionary. The -ta option adds a table to the data dictionary. The -ia option adds an index file to the data dictionary. The first name is the actual tablename created in dBase and the second name is the name recognized by MicroStation. Please note that MSCATLOG does not have an index file. Also note that mscatalog is 9 characters so for DOS, you must name the database MSCATLOG and then map that name to MSCATALOG in the build.bat file. Also, be sure to input the entire path to the data dictionary utility since the build.bat file has been copied elsewhere.
ODBC
For the ODBC server, a data source must be created for the database using an ODBC utility. (Please see additional notes for the ODBC server.)
RIS
For the RIS server, a schema must be created for the database using the RIS Schema Manager utility.
A MSCATALOG table must be created for any database. It should have at least the following structure:
For every database table used to attach linkages to graphics in MicroStation, there must be a corresponding record in the MSCATALOG table. The 'tablename' and 'entitynum' columns are required and should contain unique values.
For every database table used to attach linkages to graphics in MicroStation, there must be an MSLINK column in that table. The MSLINK column must be a unique integer column.
The MicroStation linkage from an element in the drawing to a record in the external database is a combination of the table's entitynum and the record's mslink. Attaching a database linkage to an element results in the entitynum and mslink being stored in the element.
The Xbase server requires that you have an index file to index MSLINK for each database table with an MSLINK column.
If an SQL Insert statement must be manually processed and an mslink value must be specified and the next mslink to use is not known, then first process an SQL Select statement using the 'max' SQL function (ex. select max (mslink) from parcel) to get the current largest mslink value and simply add one to calculate the next mslink value. Unfortunately, the 'max' SQL functionality is not available in Xbase.
In dbWindow, the user does not need to be concerned with what mslink value to use since dbWindow will automatically take care of it. To further explain, when the user inserts a new row into the grid item, the user can leave the mslink column blank and when the Commit button is pressed dbWindow will automatically determine the next mslink and process the correct SQL Insert statement for the user.
Also in dbWindow, the Import utility can be used to automatically populate the mslink column value when importing data into a table.
Download Bentley's MicroStation ODBC FAQs document.
