When you select a table to browse or edit, there must be both a Data Table and a View for that Data Table. tablesONLINE includes a facility known as Many-to-Many (M2M). This facility, described in the next chapter, allows for the definition of relationships between multiple Views and multiple Data Tables.
These relationship definitions are stored and referenced in a table. When a Data Table and View combination is defined in the M2M table, it is given a Table Object name. It is this name that is used in the Identify Table/Row screen (see Figure 129). This feature simplifies the referencing of tables by removing the need to know both the name of the Data Table and the appropriate View.
The delivered default is M2M. A Table Object name is requested in the Identify Table/Row screen (see Figure 129) for both browsing and editing.
If M2M is turned off, the Identify Table/Row screen will not prompt you for a Table Object name. Instead it will ask for both the name of the Data Table that is to be browsed or edited and the name of the View that is to be used to access the Data Table. This is done only when a View/Data Table relationship has not been specified. It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the View that is specified is compatible with the Data Table specified. For complete details of M2M processing, see Define Many To Many (M2M).
Whether M2M can be turned on or off is governed by a setting in the Application Control Table that is set up by your tableBASE administrator. If an application has been set up so that M2M can be turned on and off, the following actions may be performed:
- to turn M2M off, type M2M OFF in the command line and press <Enter>.
- to turn M2M back on, type M2M in the command line and press <Enter>.
All other aspects of browse and edit remain the same whether M2M is on or off.