Using the OJB Console

This section provides additional information about what you see in the console that may help answer some of your questions about using the console.

Create, Update, Delete, Browse, Search

To perform CRUD operations on an OJB object, click on the Repository and then click on the appropriate link for the operation should want to perform. The following information may be useful:

All operations by the console are performed via the Persistent Broker.
The settings in the repository.xml file are honored by the console. For example, the settings auto-update, auto-retrieve, auto-delete are handled by OJB. The repository.xml dictates whether your nested objects will be created or deleted etc.
Collection and Reference Descriptiors are supported. They can be nested as deeply as desired. When creating and inserting these objects, it helps to look at the breadcrumbs to understand the context of your current form.
BLOB fields are not displayed when browsing data.
You will be asked to confirm the Empty operation. This delets all instances of that object.
Currently, you are not asked to confirm the delete operation.
Use the Cancel buttons when you intend to cancel operations.

The Left Nav

By default, the Left Navigation bar contains the list of browseable classes. Only classes that meet the following requirements show up in this list:

Not Abstract
It does not make sense to browse the classes that can not be instantiated.
Table Exists
The PB Key is used to get the java.sql.Connection and query the database's metadata. If the table is found in the metadata, the class is considered a browseable.

Each class is identified by its unqualified class name. For example, com.foo.Bar would only be listed as Bar. This abbreviation is done to keep the width of the navigation manageable.

The PB Key

When using the console, the console keeps a PB Key in you session. This key is used for ALL operations in OJB. By default, the default OJB PB Key is used. However, you may change which key is used and switch back and forth between different PB Keys.

To change the PB Key used by OJB follow these steps:

Click on the Configure Settings
Click on the JDBC tab.
Choose a JCD Alias from the drop down
Type a user/pass for that alias
Click Login

Click on Reset Defaults to reset the PB Key to the repository's default JCD Alias settings. If you click on the Session tab, you can view the PB Key that is currently kept in your session.

The OJB Cache

It is often useful to clear all the objects from the OJB cache, especially when trying out new options in your repository.xml. To clear the OJB cache follow these steps:

Click on the Configure Settings
Click on the Cache tab.
Click Clear Cache

Browsing Properties

You can view the various runtime properties the OJB console is currently operating with by clicking on the links found on the Home page.