Chapter 1 Getting Started with ALLBASE/SQL Programming in C

ALLBASE/SQL is a relational database management system that uses SQL statements to access data within an ALLBASE/SQL DBEnvironment. Embedding SQL statements in your C program and preprocessing with the SQL preprocessor allows programmatic access to this data. Embedded statements are ALLBASE/SQL commands in the flow of what would otherwise be C source code. When embedded statements are present, the source code must be passed through an ALLBASE/SQL preprocessor to convert them to a form understood by the C compiler. This chapter examines the steps to follow as you begin to work with embedded SQL. It focuses on the programmer's tasks, which are presented in the following sections:

Embedded SQL programming is a simple process. You include SQL statements in a C source program, then you preprocess the code using the ALLBASE/SQL C preprocessor before compiling and linking. The preprocessor is fully described in Chapter 2, "Using the Preprocessor," and the specific techniques of ALLBASE/SQL programming are presented in more detail in the succeeding chapters. Readers who are already familiar with the general process of embedded SQL programming should skip ahead to chapter 2.