Previously, working with backend data in relational databases required quite a bit of hand-written SQL work to perform commonly required tasks. For instance, including data from two tables in a single form required two separate database queries. As such, saving the same data back to the database was also complicated.
MobileTogether 8.0 takes an entirely new approach that lets developers more readily build a query that returns hierarchical data and write the data back in hierarchical form. The new Database Wizard provides an easy way to build SELECT statements visually, and any parameter to the SQL query can now be directly expressed using an XPath statement, i.e., there is no longer a need to explicitly declare parameters.
The Database Wizard also lets developers add tables connected via foreign keys to the result – all in a single step. This means an entire hierarchy can be retrieved at once.
Any changes made during app execution will be intelligently written back to the relationally linked database at once. When saving hierarchical data, the app developer can choose whether to save modifications only or to replace all the data for the current record. This decision can be made on each level independently. Data replacement is the preferred option when multiple users are allowed to edit the same record at the same time.
The new approach to working with hierarchical data in otherwise flat relational databases in MobileTogether will prove to be a huge time saver that makes app development that much simpler.
