User Guide

20 Chapter 3 Querying a Database
Database design guidelines
From this basic description, a few database design rules emerge:
• Each record should contain a unique identifier, known as the primary key. This
can be an employee ID, a part number, or a customer number. The primary key is
typically the column used to maintain each record’s unique identity among the
tables in a relational database.
• After you define a column to contain a specific type of information, you must
enter data in that column in a consistent way.
• To enter data consistently, you define a data type for the column, such as
allowing only numeric values to be entered in the salary column.
• Assessing user needs and incorporating those needs in the database design is
essential to a successful implementation. A well-designed database
accommodates the changing data needs within an organization.
The best way to familiarize yourself with the capabilities of your database product or
database management system (DBMS) is to review the product documentation.
Understanding Data Sources
A database is a file or server that contains a collection of data. A data source defines
the properties which ColdFusion uses to connect to a specific database. You add
data sources to your ColdFusion Server so that you can connect to the databases
from your ColdFusion applications.
About Open Database Connectivity
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard interface for connecting to a
database from an application. Applications that use ODBC must have an ODBC
driver installed and configured for each data source.
On Windows, you can check your system’s installed drivers by opening the ODBC
Data Source Manager in the Windows Control Panel.
On Windows, the installed set of ColdFusion ODBC drivers includes:
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Microsoft Access and FoxPro databases