Logical Data View (Magic xpa 3.x)
Complex data handling is achieved by a unified and coherent definition of a logical data view that serves the task. The logical data view can be comprised of various data source ranging from SQL through ISAM and memory stored tables to complex XML documents, making the data handling completely independent of the underlying source; this enables the developer to concentrate on the actual handling of the data source records and columns.
In Magic xpa this is handled in the Data View Editor.
Magic xpa enables the developer to handle XML documents and to automatically extract and manipulate their content by hiding the low-level complexity of the XML structure.
Loading the schema of any XML document into the application, transforms the XML document into a simple XML view that the developer can then access for the data view definition of every task as if it was a regular data source. All the physical handling of the XML content is done transparently by Magic xpa in response to common activities, such as fetching records, record insert, record update and record deletion.
The native gateways of the various databases automatically translate every visual definition of the logical data view into an SQL script tailored for the specification of the underlying database.
This enables the developer to develop business applications using a high level data definition and, at any time, automatically switch from one database to the other and have the native gateway that Magic xpa provides adapt the application to the new database.
In addition to the high level visual definition of specific data views of each task, the developer may choose to retrieve data by directly defining an explicit SQL script. Magic xpa assists the developer by providing a generator to construct the SQL script.
