Database

SQL Database

The SobekCM application is database-driven with presentation, item aggregation information, and security information held in tables within an instance of Microsoft SQL 2008 Enterprise edition. While the authoritative source for the information about each digital resource is the individual METS metadata file in the digital resource file store, most other information is held by a module within the database.

The database can roughly be divided into ten "modules" which define the type of stored data and relationships. Figure 1 shows the main nine modules, without the name authority module. These modules are detailed below.

Figure 1: Overview of Database Modules

Select a module from the image above or the links at the bottom of the page for more details on any module.

Stored Procedures and Security

For security and control reasons, all interactions with the database are done through precompiled stored procedures. In addition, no element from the query string is directly used in any queries, except for the searches. Prior to a search executing the terms are cleaned and validated and then are parameterized using ADO.net from the web application before passing to the database. This ensures for security against attack. In addition, within the actual metadata search procedures, the values are once again parameterized, rather than used to build a SQL string directly.

Related Resources

SobekCM Database Modules Details
Complete Database diagram [ as PNG | as JPG | as PDF]
This shows the complete tables and relationships in the database, with the exception of the name authority module.
Complete SQL database creation scripts will be forthcoming

More Information

Want to drill down into some of these topics in more detail? Here are some related, child pages: