Stonefield Query SDK Features

The SDK is the tool kit that allows you to configure, integrate, and deliver custom end-user reporting solutions for nearly any type of data. The main tool in the SDK is the Configuration Utility. Use the Configuration Utility to define the data dictionary, configuration settings, scripts, build a HTML help file, and generate a setup.exe that's used to install your custom reporting solution.

These features separate the Stonefield Query SDK from other reporting solutions.

Data Dictionary Driven - Allows you to provide a simplified view of complex data that is clear and easy for any user to understand. Read more on why Stonefield Query uses a data dictionary.

Supports Multiple Data Sources. Some applications have a single set of data. Others may have multiple data sets. For example, accounting applications often allow users to have different sets of data for different companies. This feature allows a user to run a report against multliple data sets of the same structure.

Supports Joins Across Data Sources. Sometimes, you may need to query on tables in different databases. Stonefield Query can easily handle this, even if the databases are in different database management systems, such as one being in SQL Server and the other in Access.

100% Branding. When you deploy your custom version of Stonefield Query, you do not want it to be called Stonefield Query. You can give your application a name, logos, contact information and more through the Configuration Node.

HTML Help File Builder. When you deploy your custom version of Stonefield Query, you need to include a help file. The SDK has a built in function that customizes and brands our help file as your own.

Supports mulitple languages. Currently available languages include English, Dutch, German, and Czech. Use the Resource Editor to define other languages.

Custom Scripting is supported. Since Stonefield Query is a generic application, you may have to script certain behaviors to make it work with your specific application's databases.

Platform Independent. As long as Stonefield Query can access the data you want to query against, it doesn't matter what development language you're using.

Project Security can be implemented to protect your time investement in the project and restrict others from modifying or stealing your work.

Data Dictionary Discovery - Filling in the data dictionary for a database would be a very tedious process if you had to do it by hand. Fortunately, the Configuration Utility has a feature to "discover" the meta data for a database.

Data Dictionary Refresh - When the structure of a database changes, such as when a new table or new field is added, the Stonefield Query data dictionary must be updated or the user won't be able to report on the new fields. Using the data dictionary refresh will add new tables and fields, change data types and column widths, and so forth. This will not overwrite your existing customizations

View Data allows you to see the contents of a table or a field so you can understand the contents better than the name alone implies.

Enumerated Values are those that contain a pre-defined set of codes that mean something. For example, in the sample Northwind database that comes with SQL Server, the ShipVia field in the Orders table contains a 1, 2, or 3. These values aren't foreign keys looked up in another table, but rather hard-coded values, each of which represents a different shipping type. Often, these codes are displayed to the user in the application differently than they're stored. For example, the user might see "Fedex," "UPS," or "Mail" for the ShipVia field rather than 1, 2, or 3.

Related Fields are those fields that do contain foreign keys, you likely do not want to display the foreign key values to the user. Instead, you may want to display a particular field from the table that this field contains the foreign key for.

The Project Documentation function provides complete documentation for your Stonefield Query project. The documentation describes all the data dictionary settings, all configuration settings, and all scripts, and has hyperlinks between related topics.

Role-based security can be defined at the data dictionary level. You can define which roles (called User Groups in Stonefield Query) can access certain tables and fields in the properties pane for table and field objects.

Data Groups are used to group related tables. For example, an accounting application may have different modules, such as General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable. Rather than making the user select from hundreds of tables in the Data Selection step of the Report Wizard, if you group your tables, they can select which data group they want to work with, and then only see the tables in that group in. Read more.

A Calculated Field is the same as a formula or expression that you would define on a report, but in Stonefield Query you can define in the data dictionary. For example, most order entry systems don't store the extended price of an item, but derive it from the unit price multiplied by the quantity. However, you may want your users to be able to query or report on extended price, so you would create a calculated field for it. 

Command-Line Interface and SQProxy Object:  Allows you to run Stonefield Query from your application.

For complete documentation on the SDK, please see SDK Online Help.