Database Table form
Completing the Database tab

Field

Description

Identify a Database instance that corresponds to the database containing the table or view.

Optional. Identify a database instance that contains a copy of this table, replicated through database software. See How to use a reports database.

Complete this field only if a database administrator has created a separate "mirror" or "slave" database with tables — identical in name, structure and indexes to the PegaRULES database tables — sufficient to support reporting needs, and established a replication process. The replication process may be "near real time", or with a longer latency, depending on the system resources available for replication and management reporting needs.

The table can support list view and summary view data retrieval, to reduce the processing workload on the primary PegaRULES database. To cause report processing to use the alternate database, select the Use alternate database? check box on the Contents tab of a list view or summary view rule.

If a list view or summary view presents data from multiple tables — for example by using a JOIN facility — all required tables must be in one database — either the master PegaRULES database or a single reports database. The sources for a report cannot span multiple databases.

You can disable the use of the reports database — causing all reporting to occur against the primary PegaRULES database regardless of the Use alternate database? settings in list view or summary view rule, by adding the following entry to your prconfig.xml file:

<env name="database/useReportingDatabase" value=false" />

The default if omitted is true.

Optional. Identify the database catalog containing the schema that defines the table or view.

In special situations, a catalog name is needed to fully qualify the table. See Pega Developer Network article PRKB-12448 How to use fully qualified table names in the PegaRULES database.

Optional. Identify the name of the schema (within the catalog) that defines the table. As noted above, this required in some cases, especially if multiple PegaRULES database schemas are hosted in one database instances. See Pega Developer Network article PRKB-23183 Troubleshooting: "Obj-Save is trying to write to a non-existent column".

Enter the name of the specific table that is to hold instances of the specified class or class group.

When allowed by the database account, enter only an unqualified table name. Preferably, the database account converts the unqualified table name to the fully qualified table name.

A few Database Table instances created when your system is installed identify database views rather than tables. Views are used only for reporting. By convention, the names of views in the initial PegaRULES database schema start with pwvb4_ or pcv4_.

If you create additional views in the PegaRULES database, you can link to them to a class using a database table instance. The view data then becomes available for reporting with list view and summary view rules.

After you save this Data Table form, you can test connectivity to the database and table. This test does not alter the database. The test uses information on this form, the associated database data instance, and in some cases information from the prconfig.xml file or application server JDBC datasources.