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Data Repository User Guide

This is no longer maintained

This document provides an overview of components used to build and manage a Whitebrick data repository.

Organizations

Organizations are groups of Users. Every user can be a member of zero, one or multiple Organizations. A user does not need to be a member of an Organization to use the application.

An Organization has a Label, eg "Vandelay Industries", as well as an identifying Name used in the URL slug, eg "vandelay" in https://whitebrick.com/vandelay

Organization Roles

Every User in an Organization has a Role in that Organization.

Role Name Permissions
Organization Administrator - Administrative access to Repositories owned by the Organization
- Add/remove users to/from the Organization
- Promote/demote users to/from the Organization Administrator Role
Organization User - Default user access to granted Repositories owned by the Organization
Organization External User - Default external user access to granted Repositories owned by the Organization

An Organization must have at least one User with the Organization Administrator Role.

Creating an Organization

Any User can create an Organization, for which they will be assigned the Organization Administrator Role by default.

  1. On the left side of the Home screen click on the + button.
  2. Enter a Name and Label on right-hand pane and click on the Save button.

Editing an Organization

Only an Organization Administrator can edit an Organization.

  1. On the left side of the Home screen, click on the name of the Organization you wish to edit.
  2. Click on the pencil icon next to the name of the Organization in the center of the screen.
  3. Edit the Name and/or Label on right-hand pane and click on the Save button.

Deleting an Organization

Only an Organization Administrator can delete an Organization.

If the Organization is the owner of any repositories, these repositories must be transferred or deleted before the Organization is deleted.

  1. On the left side of the Home screen, click on the name of the Organization you wish to delete.
  2. Click on the trash icon next to the name of the Organization in the center of the screen.
  3. Type the name of the Organization as confirmation and click on the Delete button.

Viewing Users for an Organization

  1. On the left side of the Home screen, click on the name of the Organization you wish to view.
  2. Click on the Members tab in the center of the screen above the repositories.

Editing Users and Roles for an Organization

Only an Organization Administrator can edit Users and Roles for an Organization.

There must be at least one User with the Organization Administrator Role at all times.

Users must be signed-up to Whitebrick before they can be added to an Organization.

  1. Follow the directions for Viewing Users in an Organization above.
    • To remove a user from the Organization click on the corresponding trash icon.
    • To leave an Organization (ie remove yourself) click on the corresponding exit icon.
    • To change the Role of a User select the new Role from the corresponding dropdown.
    • To add a new User click on the + Invite Users button, search for the user by E-mail address, select a Role and click Invite.

Repositories

A Repositories is a collection of Tables and User access Roles.

A Repository is owned by either an individual User or an Organization.

Repository Roles

  • If a Repository is owned by an Organization, administrators of the Organization are implicitly assigned the DB Administrator Role for the Repository
  • If a Repository is owned bu an individual User, that User will always have the DB Administrator Role for the Repository
  • Repository ownership can be transferred by any User with the DB Administrator Role
Role Name Permissions
DB Owner - Equivalent to the DB Administrator Role
DB Administrator - Manage User access Roles
- Create/edit/delete Tables and Columns
- Read and write records
DB Manager - Create/edit/delete Tables and Columns
- Read and write records
DB Editor - Read and write records
DB Reader - Read records

Creating a Repository

A Repository has a Label, eg "Sales", as well as an identifying Name used for back-end queries and the URL slug, eg "sales" in https://whitebrick.com/vandelay/sales

Any User can create a Repository and will be assigned the DB Administrator Role by default.

  1. On the top right side of the Home screen click on the + button and select New Repository.
  2. If the Repository is to be owned by an Organization, select the Organization name from the dropdown menu on the right-hand pane, otherwise the Repository will be owned by the current User.
  3. Enter a Name and Label on right-hand pane and click on the Save button.
  4. The new Repository will display on the home screen under My Repositories if created with a User owner or under the Organization name if created with an Organization owner

Editing a Repository

Only a DB Administrator or DB Manager can edit a Repository.

  1. From the Home screen, click on the name of the Repository you wish to edit.
  2. Click on the pencil icon next to the name of the Organization in the center of the screen.
  3. Edit the Name and/or Label on right-hand pane and click on the Save button.

Deleting a Repository

Only a DB Administrator or DB Manager can delete a Repository.

  1. From the Home screen, click on the name of the Repository you wish to delete.
  2. Click on the trash icon next to the name of the Repository in the center of the screen.
  3. Type the name of the Repository as confirmation and click on the Delete button.

Viewing Users for a Repository

  1. From the Home screen, click on the name of the Repository you wish to open.
  2. Click on the Members tab in the center of the screen above the list of Tables.

Editing Users and Roles for a Repository

Only a Repository Administrator can edit Users and Roles for a Repository.

  1. Follow the directions above for Viewing Users for a Repository.
    • To remove a user from the Repository click on the corresponding trash icon.
    • To leave a Repository (ie remove yourself) click on the corresponding exit icon.
    • To change the Role of a User select the new Role from the corresponding dropdown.
    • To add a new User click on the + Invite Users button, search for the user by E-mail address, select a Role and click Invite.

Tables

A Tables is a collection of Columns, Rows (record values) and User access Roles.

A Table belongs to one Repository only.

Table Roles

Role Name Permissions
Table Administrator - Manage User access Roles
- Edit the Table and Columns
- Read and write records
Table Manager - Edit the Table and Columns
- Read and write records
Table Editor - Read and write records
Table Reader - Read records

By default, implicit Table roles are assigned from the parent Repository Roles.

Repository Role Name Table Role Name
DB Owner Table Administrator
DB Administrator Table Administrator
DB Manager Table Manager
DB Editor Table Editor
DB Reader Table Reader

Creating a Table

A Table has a Label, eg "Products", as well as an identifying Name used for back-end queries and the URL slug, eg "products" in https://whitebrick.com/vandelay/sales/products

Only a DB Administrator or DB Manager can create a new Table within the Repository.

  1. On the top right side of the Home screen click on the + button and select New Table.
  2. Select the parent Repository for which to create the Table within
  3. Enter a Name and Label in the right-hand pane and click on the Save button.
  4. The new Table will display on the Repository screen under the Tables tab.

Editing a Table

Only a Table Administrator or Table Manager can edit a Table.

  1. From the Repository screen, click on the name of the Table you wish to edit.
  2. Click on the pencil icon next to the name of the Table in the center of the screen.
  3. Edit the Name and/or Label on right-hand pane and click on the Save button.

Deleting a Table

Only a Table Administrator or Table Manager can delete a Table.

  1. From the Repository screen, click on the name of the Table you wish to delete.
  2. Click on the trash icon next to the name of the Table in the center of the screen.
  3. Type the name of the Table as confirmation and click on the Delete button.

Viewing Users for a Table

  1. From the Repository screen, click on the name of the Table you wish to open.
  2. Click on the Members tab in the center of the screen above the list of Tables.

Editing Users and Roles for a Table

Only a Table Administrator can edit Users and Roles for a Table.

  1. Follow the directions above for Viewing Users for a Table.

    • To remove a user from the Table click on the corresponding trash icon.
    • To leave a Table (ie remove yourself) click on the corresponding exit icon.
    • To change the Role of a User select the new Role from the corresponding dropdown.
    • To add a new User click on the + Invite Users button, search for the user by E-mail address, select a Role and click Invite.

Columns

Columns are used to delimit data in Repository Tables in a similar way to how columns are used in spreadsheets.

  • A Column has a Label, eg "Price", as well as an identifying Name eg "price" used for back-end queries.
  • A Column has a specific Type and only values of that type are permitted.
  • A Column belongs to one Table only but can reference (link to) columns in other Tables using Foreign Keys.
  • One or more columns can be assigned as the Primary Key of the Table.
  • You can read more generally about foreign and primary keys.

Column Type

A Column must be assigned a specific Data Type and only values matching this type can be entered.

Required Columns

One or more Columns can be configured as Required (Not Null) to ensure the User enters a value before saving a record.

Primary Keys

One or more Columns can be configured as a Primary Key if they are used to uniquely identify the record. The Primary Key can then be used to reference the record from other Columns.

Foreign Keys

One or more Columns can be configured as Foreign Keys to reference corresponding values in other tables.

Creating a Column

Only a Table Administrator or Table Manager can create a new Column for the Table.

  1. Point your mouse over the header of the Table until the hamburger icon appears, click on it and select Add Column.
  2. Enter a Name and Label and configure the Required, Primary Keys and Foreign Keys settings from the right-hand pane.
  3. Click on the Save button and the new Column will display in the Table.

Editing a Column

Only a Table Administrator or Table Manager can edit a Column.

  1. Point your mouse over the Column header until the hamburger icon appears, click on it and select Edit Column.
  2. Update the Name and/or Label and/or configure the Required, Primary Keys and Foreign Keys settings from the right-hand pane.
  3. Click on the Save button and the new Column will display in the Table.

Deleting a Column

Only a Table Administrator or Table Manager can delete a Column.

  1. Point your mouse over the Column header until the hamburger icon appears, click on it and select Delete Column.
  2. The Column will no longer be displayed in the table

Data Types

Data Type
Text
Integer
Decimal
Boolean
Date
Timestamp