OCS -- In Detail

So.. You are ready to add OCS in your project. Its very easy. In the "Add New Item" dialogue, among a number of new options, you will see one named "Local Database Cache". This is the one you need. Click on it and it will ask pop up the "Synchronization Dialogue" on the screen.

Following is the description of the fields you will see in this dailogue

• Server Connection: The connection of the main database server from which you want to download the data
• Client Connection: The connection of a local database which OCS will use for storing local data. OCS will give you a default connection whenever you choose a server connection. But you can create your own local database connection by clicking the "New" button next to the client connection field.
• Cached Object List: This is a tree view that displays all the tables selected for Synchornization and offlin usage.
• Add Item: Use this button to add a table for synchronization
• Remove Item: Use this button to remove an already selected table from the "Cached Object List"
• Advanced: Advanced section consists of some options used for the N-Tier scenario i.e. when you want to spread your OCS Sync Code over multiple layers. I am leaving this section for further discussions.
• Show Code: Now this is a very nice idea to guide the user in the right direction. If the user has selected tables for synchronization, this code will guide him how to synchronize the tables later within the code.

Once you choose the server connection, you will notice that the cached object list shows the status "Loading..." at the top. This is when OCS is loading the server schema which will be displayed to the user upon clicking the "Add Item" Button. You will also notice the "Ok" button to be disabled until you add at least 1 table for synchronization.

This blog covers the whole UI Interface of the OCS Sync Designer Dialogue. There are a few more dialogues which may pop up in different scenarios and I would discuss them later. The most important of them is the "Configure Tables for Offline Use" dialogue which appears when you click the "Add Item" Button. You can read more about these dialogues tomorrow