Browse mode is included in Client-Library to provide
compatibility with Open Server applications and older Open Client
libraries. Sybase discourages its use in new Open Client Client-Library
applications because cursors provide the same functionality in a
more portable and flexible manner. Further, browse mode is Sybase-specific
and is not suited for use in a heterogeneous environment.
Browse mode provides a means for browsing through database rows and updating their values one row at a time. From the standpoint of an application program, the process involves several steps, because each row must be transferred from the database into program variables before it can be browsed and updated.
Since a row being browsed is not the actual row residing in the database, but is a copy residing in program variables, the program must be able to ensure that changes to the variables’ values are reliably used to update the original database row. In particular, in multiuser situations, the program needs to ensure that updates made to the database by one user do not unwittingly overwrite updates made by another user between the time the program selected the row and sent the command to update it. A timestamp column in browsable tables provides the information necessary to regulate this type of multiuser updating.
Because some applications permit users to enter ad hoc browse mode queries, Client-Library provides two routines, ct_br_table and ct_br_column, that allow an application to retrieve information about the tables and columns underlying a browse-mode result set. This information is useful when an application is constructing commands to perform browse-mode updates.
A browse-mode application requires two connections, one for selecting the data and one for performing the updates.
For more information on browse mode, see the Adaptive Server Enterprise Reference Manual.
