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, a Database Group, and an Environment. CONNECT <id>; opens one. See Connections, Database Groups and Environments. |
| Database Group | Which product or system a connection belongs to (Wiki1, JIRA, MYSAP, and so on). Lets you keep connections for different products apart once you have more than a handful; a connection can't reuse the same (Database Group, Environment) pair as another. Purely organizational; doesn't change how a connection behaves. Stored in the CDF's INSTANCE table (kept under that name internally) and managed from the "Database Groups" tab of CONFIG. See Getting started. |
| Environment | Which deployment platform a connection points at (DEV, TI, QA, LIVE, and so on), with its own Production flag and comment. Managed from the "Environments" tab of CONFIG. ENV <environment> switches to it within the current Database Group. |
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. |
| DUMP | The export command: writes a table, the previous result, a query or a library script's result to a file (CSV, TEXT, JSON, XLSX, ODS...) or a local H2 table, under one syntax. Not a database backup. See Export. |
| PULL | A compatibility alias of DUMP, kept so existing scripts keep running. See Export. |
| Extraction | Any operation that writes query results to a file rather than the screen, that is, a DUMP. |
| 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. CSV separator | Two independent settings: ScreenSeparator controls the column separator shown on screen; CsvSeparator (COMMA or SEMICOLON) controls the separator of DUMP ... AS CSV. AS TEXT is always tab separated. See Application settings. |
| Script | A text file of SQL statements, BroadSQL commands, or both, separated by ;. Its extension does not matter. Run it with @ or LIB RUN. See the Scripting overview. |
| Scripts Library | The folder of reusable Scripts (scripts/ by default, ScriptsLibrary setting), browsed with the LIB commands and the BroadSQL Editor. Since 5.3.0 it also replaces the former SQL Library. See Scripts Library. |
| SQL scripting vs. JavaScript scripting | SQL scripting is the normal automation of BroadSQL: Scripts with variables, named arguments, ECHO, OUTPUT and ON ERROR, but no loops or conditions. JavaScript scripting (JS RUN, JS EVAL) is the developer capability for general-purpose logic and several connections at once. See JavaScript scripting. |
| Script variable | A named, typed value of the BroadSQL session, set with LET or by a Script argument and used as ${name}. Shared by the prompt and every Script; survives CONNECT and ENV; lost when BroadSQL exits. See Script variables. |
| Script variable vs. API variable | Two unrelated sets. LET sets Script variables, used in SQL and listed by SHOW SCRIPT VARIABLES. VAR sets API variables, used only by API requests. |
| Typed binding (bound value) | How ${name} reaches the database: as a separate value with its type, never pasted into the SQL text. A string needs no quotes or escaping, and a variable can never be a table or column name. See Script variables. |
| Scalar query assignment | LET name = SELECT ...: stores the single value of a query that returns exactly one row and one column. The query result is never displayed or exported. |
| Named Script argument | A name=value written after a Script reference (@report.sql country='FR'). It assigns a Script variable just before the Script starts. It is not a local function parameter: the value stays in the shared namespace after the Script returns. See Named Script arguments. |
@params | A Script metadata line (-- @params: country, min_id) listing the arguments every call must pass explicitly. An existing session variable does not satisfy it. No types, defaults or local scope. |
| Positional Script parameter | The legacy %1 to %9 syntax, removed and replaced by named arguments. A call such as @report.sql 42 FR now fails. See From %1..%9 to named arguments. |
ECHO | Prints one single-quoted message, with ${name} replaced by variable values. Never hidden by OUTPUT QUIET. |
OUTPUT QUIET / OUTPUT NORMAL | In a Script, OUTPUT QUIET hides routine output (statement echo, row counts, LET confirmations, a SUCCESS status line) from that statement on, never results, ECHO, warnings or errors. OUTPUT NORMAL, the default, shows everything again. The activity log always keeps everything. |
ON ERROR | In a Script, ON ERROR CONTINUE (the default) runs the next statement after a failure; ON ERROR STOP ends the Script at the first failure. Neither keeps a transaction that a SQL error rolled back. See Error handling. |
| Nested Script | A Script run by a statement of another Script (@child.bsql). It shares the caller's variables and belongs to the same run, with the same Run ID. |
| Script status | The result of a Script run, printed on its last line: SUCCESS, COMPLETED_WITH_ERRORS, FAILED or CANCELLED. See Run status and Run ID. |
| Run ID | The 8 character identifier of one top-level Script run, shared by every nested Script and written in the status line and the application log. It identifies a run, not a connection. |
DUMP LIB (and DUMP @) | Runs a library Script and exports its own final tabular result to a file, only when the Script ends SUCCESS. See Exporting a Script's result. |
| LOAD | The import command: inserts the rows of a UTF-8 CSV file into an existing table, after a preview (PREVIEW) and a confirmation or EXECUTE. It never creates a table or updates a row. See Importing data. |
| API Client (Universal API Client) | The experimental part of BroadSQL that calls HTTP APIs: an API is imported from Bruno or defined in CONFIG API, opened with CONNECT API <api>:<environment>, called with RUN, and its result exported with DUMP API RESULT. An API environment is unrelated to a database Environment. See Universal API Client. |
| Production (Environment flag) | Marks an Environment as production. Its only visible effect is a distinct prompt style when colors are on; it blocks nothing. See Connections, Database Groups and Environments. |