The Database Integration Toolbox is implemented as the Database package, which provides commands and Maplet applications for using databases.

Using the Connection Builder Maplet application, you can easily open database connections.

The Database package uses Structured Query Language (SQL) to communicate with the database. Using the Query Builder Maplet application, you can query a database without any knowledge of SQL.

Data is automatically converted between database and Maple format to allow native manipulation in each environment.

The Database package uses Java Database Connectivity (JDBC).  To connect to a database, Maple must be able to access the JDBC driver for that database.  For more information on JDBC drivers, see JDBC.

For information on JDBC compatibility, see compatibility.

To use the Database package, you must first open a connection to a database using one of the following methods.

- Establish a connection using the Connection Builder Maplet application.

- Re-establish a connection that was saved using the Save command or Connection Builder Maplet application, using the LoadConnection command.

- Load a JDBC driver module using the LoadDriver command, and then open a connection to a database using the OpenConnection command exported by the driver module.

After establishing a connection, you can query the database using the Query Builder Maplet application or query and update the database using commands.

For more information on using the Database package, see the Introduction to Using the Database Package help page and Database Integration example worksheet.

The Database package has an object-oriented design. The package contains a small number of commands, some of which return modules. The modules provide the majority of the functionality. To use the commands in a returned module, you must assign the module to a name. For example, the LoadDriver command returns a driver module that exports the commands OpenConnection and Close. To open a connection using this driver, use the driver_name:-OpenConnection(arguments) calling sequence.

Note: The calling sequence does not require Database:- because the driver_name module is not an export of the Database package.

You can use the Database package with any database that supports JDBC. However, JDBC support is incomplete for some databases.  Therefore, not all Database features may be available for every database.  The behavior of the Database package in these situations in database dependent.

For more information, see Driver.

For more information, see Connection.

For more information, see PreparedStatement.

For more information, see Statement.

For more information, see Result.

For more information, see SQLite

For more information, see DataInterface.

To display the help page for a particular Database command, see Getting Help with a Command in a Package.