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diff --git a/src/site/xdoc/cookbook.xml b/src/site/xdoc/cookbook.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e40a403 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/site/xdoc/cookbook.xml @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +<?xml version="1.0"?> + +<document> + <properties> + <author email="jahlborn@users.sf.net">James Ahlborn</author> + <title>Jackcess Cookbook</title> + </properties> + <body> + <section name="Introduction"> + <p> + This cookbook will attempt to familiarize the reader with the various + nooks and crannies of the Jackcess API. The API is large due to the + large feature-set that an Access Database provides, so this cookbook + will by no means be exhaustive. However, this will hopefully give the + reader enough useful building blocks such that the rest of the API can + be discovered and utilized as necessary. + </p> + <p> + This cookbook is a cross between a tutorial and a reference, so the + reader should be able to skip to relevant sections without needing to + read the entire preceding text. + </p> + <p> + While this cookbook strives to present best practices for both the + Jackcess API and Java programming in general, at times, the code may + be trimmed for the sake of brevity. For the same reason, pseudo-code + may be used in places where the actual code is not relevant to the + example. + </p> + </section> + <section name="The Basics"> + <subsection name="Opening a Database"> + <p> + So you have an Access Database and you want to do something with it. + You want to use Java, and you may not even be running on Windows (or + you tried the JDBC/ODBC bridge and it failed miserably). Through + some Google-fu, you landed here at the Jackcess project. Now what? + </p> + <p> + Well, the first thing you need to do is open the database. The + entry point class in the Jackcess API is, suprisingly enough, the + <a href="apidocs/com/healthmarketscience/jackcess/Database.html">Database</a> class. + </p> + <source> + Database db = Database.open(new File("mydb.mdb")); +</source> + <p> + That's it, now you have a Database instance (maybe this isn't that + difficult after all). + </p> + <p> + Important note, <i>always</i> make sure you close a Database + instance when you are finished with it (preferably in a finally + block like any other important resource). Failure to close the + Database instance could result in data loss or database corruption. + </p> + </subsection> + <subsection name="Reading a Table"> + <p> + Okay, so you have a Database instance, now what? Since pretty much + everything in an Access database lives in a table, grabbing a <a href="apidocs/com/healthmarketscience/jackcess/Table.html">Table</a> + would be the logical next step. + </p> + <source> + Table table = db.getTable("Test"); +</source> + <p> + Where's the data? While a <a + href="apidocs/com/healthmarketscience/jackcess/Cursor.html">Cursor</a> + is the best way to interact with the data in a Table, for the sake + of simplicity when just getting started we will use the simplified + iteration provided by the Table class itself. When reading row + data, it is generally provided as a <code>Map<String,Object></code> where the keys are the column + names and the values are the strongly typed column values. + </p> + <source> + for(Map<String,Object> row : table) { + System.out.prinln("The row data is: " + row); + } +</source> + </subsection> + </section> + </body> +</document> |