BroadSQLGlossary
Terms specific to BroadSQL, in one place. For everything else, see the command reference.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CDF | Connections Definition File: the encrypted H2 database where BroadSQL stores every connection you define, including the one used to connect to itself ($CDF). See Getting started. |
| $CDF | The reserved connection ID for the CDF itself: CONNECT $CDF; opens it like any other database. |
| Master password | The password that unlocks the CDF file (clipper8AD by default on a fresh install). Change it with SET MASTER PASSWORD;. Not the same thing as a connection's own USER_PASSWORD. |
| Connection | A row in the CDF's CONNECTIONS table: an ID, a JDBC URL, credentials, a type, an instance, and a landscape. CONNECT <id>; opens one. |
| Instance | Which deployment platform a connection points at: DEV, TI, QA, LIVE, and so on. Purely organizational; doesn't change how a connection behaves. See Getting started. |
| Landscape | Which project or product a connection belongs to, letting you keep connections for different projects apart once you have more than a handful. $CDF always exists as a default landscape. |
Type (TYPE_ID) | The database vendor a connection uses (H2, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and so on), matched against a row in the CDF's TYPE table, which supplies the JDBC driver class name. See Technical requirements. |
| PULL | The unified command for copying a query's results into a local H2 table, a spreadsheet tab, or a flat file, under one syntax. The recommended replacement for EXPORT/DUMP for a one-shot extraction. See PULL. |
| EXPORT / DUMP | The older file-export commands: EXPORT is a toggle that redirects every subsequent query's output to a file; DUMP is a one-shot export of a whole table. Both still fully supported. See Export & Dump. |
| Extraction | Any operation that writes query results to a file rather than the screen: EXPORT, DUMP, and PULL are all forms of extraction. |
| Extension | A command loaded from a JAR in the extensions/ folder, in addition to BroadSQL's own built-in commands. See Extending BroadSQL. |
| Activity log | A per-connection, per-day text file recording every command typed and its output, independent of BroadSQL's own internal application log. See Command activity log. |
| Screen separator vs. fields separator | Two independent settings: ScreenSeparator controls the column separator shown on screen; FieldsSeparator controls the one used by EXPORT/DUMP text output. Neither affects PULL, which has its own CsvSeparator. See Application settings. |