RE: DATALINK (was: How can I store an externally generated PDF inafile or outq)

Depends on your application.  If your engineers are used to using 
something like Pro/E to update drawings they will puke if they have to 
open a DB2 file to get a drawing.  They're used to storing these on their 
file server.  Good application for a datalink.

Otherwise, it's pretty open.

R7 of Domino will support DB2 as it's underlying database.  I think that 
will be one real takeoff into blobs, etc.  Where they'll actually store 
the design stuff traditionally associated with a notes database is a 
mystery to me.


Rob Berendt
-- 
Group Dekko Services, LLC
Dept 01.073
PO Box 2000
Dock 108
6928N 400E
Kendallville, IN 46755
http://www.dekko.com





"Dan Bale" <dbale@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
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RE: DATALINK (was: How can I store an externally generated PDF  inafile or 
outq)






Thanks Keith, that was along the lines that I was thinking of, although I
was having difficulty conceptualizing a 16MB field that a BLOB could be!

The other difference I just thought of is that the same DATALINK could be
used by more than one record.  That couldn't be done with a BLOB. Although
that starts to get into some data normalization issues I suppose.

Anyway, how does one choose between a BLOB and a DATALINK?  I already
described how I see this being used to pop up photos, drawings, and
signatures in a window via an F-key.  But the application that we will 
have
is to print reports (maybe produce PDFs?) that include these graphics as
well.

db

> -----Original Message-----
> From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx / Keith Carpenter
> Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 1:13 PM
>
> The main difference is where the data is stored.
>
> With a BLOB the data is considered stored in the row (record).  Actually
> it's probably some space object behind the scenes (there's a 16 Mb size
> limit). You can think of a BLOB as a very big data field.
>
> With a DATALINK the data is in the IFS or some remote system and it's
> referenced by URL instead.  Hence why it's called a link.  You
> can think of
> the field as containing the path to your stream file.
>
> A windows app could use ODBC to read your image db, then use the URL
> w/access token to open the image file from the IFS.
>
>
> Keith

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