The – physical database of GCRS has several hundred tables which are linked to each other. Each of the tables has many columns. In order to protect the user from the complexity of the physical database model, we have defined so called external database schemes, which protect the user form this complexity and offer an object oriented way of looking at the objects of interest.

Is the Query Builder easy to use ?

The Query Builder is very easy to use. The user selects the objects and picks the attributes of interest. Then he defines the conditions. All those elements are presented in the users natural language. The result set is created. This result can be exported to other packages like MS-Excel or SPSS to do statistics or it can be assigned to an existing group.

Do I have to define a new Query each time I want to get a result set ?

No. You can store your queries as a so called SQX – Files. Each time you need a query you load the existing query and perform it. With this method you can easily create variations of queries.

Can a physical database have more then one external data schema ?

There can be used as many different data schemes as you would like. It is even recommended to provide different data schemes for different scopes of interest and different user groups to exactly match there needs.

Can I see the SQL-Statements, which the Query Builder produced to get the result set ?

Yes. You can see the created SQL-Statement in an extra window and you can edit the result set to get amore specialized query with very specific functions.

Can I exchange query definitions with other users ?

Yes, this possible. The Query Definition file can be saved and you can freely exchange it with other users of the Query Builder.