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(slib.info)Catalog Representation

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Catalog Representation
----------------------

Each database (in an implementation) has a "system catalog" which
describes all the user accessible tables in that database (including
itself).

The system catalog base table has the following fields.  `PRI'
indicates a primary key for that table.

     PRI table-name
         column-limit            the highest column number
         coltab-name             descriptor table name
         bastab-id               data base table identifier
         user-integrity-rule
         view-procedure          A scheme thunk which, when called,
                                 produces a handle for the view.  coltab
                                 and bastab are specified if and only if
                                 view-procedure is not.

Descriptors for base tables (not views) are tables (pointed to by
system catalog).  Descriptor (base) tables have the fields:

     PRI column-number           sequential integers from 1
         primary-key?            boolean TRUE for primary key components
         column-name
         column-integrity-rule
         domain-name

A "primary key" is any column marked as `primary-key?' in the
corresponding descriptor table.  All the `primary-key?' columns must
have lower column numbers than any non-`primary-key?' columns.  Every
table must have at least one primary key.  Primary keys must be
sufficient to distinguish all rows from each other in the table.  All of
the system defined tables have a single primary key.

This package currently supports tables having from 1 to 4 primary keys
if there are non-primary columns, and any (natural) number if _all_
columns are primary keys.  If you need more than 4 primary keys, I would
like to hear what you are doing!

A "domain" is a category describing the allowable values to occur in a
column.  It is described by a (base) table with the fields:

     PRI domain-name
         foreign-table
         domain-integrity-rule
         type-id
         type-param

The "type-id" field value is a symbol.  This symbol may be used by the
underlying base table implementation in storing that field.

If the `foreign-table' field is non-`#f' then that field names a table
from the catalog.  The values for that domain must match a primary key
of the table referenced by the TYPE-PARAM (or `#f', if allowed).  This
package currently does not support composite foreign-keys.

The types for which support is planned are:
         atom
         symbol
         string                  [<length>]
         number                  [<base>]
         money                   <currency>
         date-time
         boolean
     
         foreign-key             <table-name>
         expression
         virtual                 <expression>