Case Study - Relational Database Documentation

Documentation of relational databases is an ideal application for The Manuals Machine. It may require tabular content to present the structures and perhaps to show sample data, text content for descriptive material, graphical content such as entity-relationship diagrams, and PDFs to include extracts of the database server documentation.

SMH Systems has developed database documentation for several clients. Structural details such as table columns and datatypes can be prepared by developing scripts to convert table details extracted from the system catalogue into XML documentation pages - as illustrated at left Should the database structures be updated the scripts can be rerun to refresh the documentation within minutes Descriptive sections can be quickly prepared using the Manuals Machine Author/Editor, and can integrate illustrations generated by diagramming and reverse-engineering tools Comprehensive documentation for a large database can extend to many thousands of items in a variety of styles and formats. The Manuals Machine can be used to organise and index this content, which is instantly available to designers, developers and data miners as a highly-accessible online resource The Manuals Machine's customisation features enable special XSLT stylesheets to be provided, which automatically generate hyperlinks between related pages, enabling simple navigation across the various types of technical details