Database concepts

Before you begin to work with Ambry, you shoold be familiar with some general database concepts. Even if you are familiar with traditional databases, you should at least skim through this section.

What's a database?

A database is a set of related information. Each database is stored in a document. (Although a document contains a little bit more information than just the database, such as the window position and size, this manual uses the terms "database" and "document" interchangeably.) Within the database are a series of objects. Objects are discrete items such as a single book from your bookshelves; objects, in turn, contain a series of properties. Properties are named chunks of data stored in one of several kinds, or property types.

For example, a document may contain a list of compact discs in your collection. Within each object are a dozen properties, including the disc's name, artist, a picture of the cover, and a list of tracks. The Name property, for example, is of the string type and contains text.

How's Ambry different?

Ambry is an object-oriented database; that is, objects maintain a heirarchy of inheritance if you add a property to an object, that property is added to all objects which have that object as the parent (called instances or child objects), as well.

In addition, Ambry maintains a contents relationship for all objects. For example, you might create a series of Track objects, one for each song on an album, and store them in an object's contents.

Finally, unlike most databases, where you are required to define the properties in an object before creating instances of that object, you can add properties to, remove properties from, and alter the behavior of properties in an object at any time and instances of the object inherit those changed automatically.

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