IBConsole Tables

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Relational databases store all their data in tables. A table is a data structure consisting of an unordered set of horizontal rows, each containing the same number of vertical columns. The intersection of an individual row and column is a field that contains a specific piece of information. Much of the power of relational databases comes from refining the relations among the tables.

InterBase stores information about metadata in special tables, called system tables. System tables have predefined columns that store information about the type of metadata in that table. All system tables begin with "RDB$". An example of a system table is RDB$RELATIONS, which stores information about each table in the database.

System tables have the same structure as user-defined tables and are stored in the same database as the user-defined tables. Because the metadata, user-defined tables, and data are all stored in the same database file, each database is a complete unit and can be easily transported between machines.

System tables can be modified like any other database tables. Unless you understand all the interrelationships between the system tables, however, modifying them directly may adversely affect other system tables and disrupt your database.

For a complete discussion of tables, see the Data Definition Guide.

For a complete description of the InterBase system tables and views, see the Language Reference Guide.