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Q1: Is a copy of the multi dataset Metabase CASE/Repository system provided to attendees of the Lectures-Only version of the workshop?
Answer: No, but a discount of 50% is provided to those students for subsequent purchase of a multi dataset version of the Metabase Software System.
Q2: Is there a consideration on the prices of an on-site Data Interoperability Workshop or Community of Interest Data Interoperability Workshop if I attend a public Data Interoperability Workshop?
Answer: Yes, if you attend either the Lectures-only, or Lectures & Workshops versions your tuition is fully credited towards the on-site price.
Q3: If I want to attend the public Workshop version after attending the public Lectures-only version, is there any price credit?
Answer: Yes, 50% of your Lectures-only payment is credited towards the Lectures & Workshop version.
Q4: If more than one person from my organization attends the public Lectures & Workshop version, does each attendee receive a copy of the single-user version of the Metabase CASE/Repository system or a multi-user?
Answer: If between two and four persons from one organization attend a public workshop the attendees receive a four concurrent-user version. If between five and ten persons attend a public workshop, you receive the 10-concurrent user version.
Q5: If I have an "on-site" workshop, will the metabase be pre-installed on a server? What about the student versions of the metabase for that class, will they be installed on the student stations?
Answer: Yes, you will be contacted in advance of the class. Our installation specialist will work with your system administrator and provide a server copy of the metabase as well as client versions. Your system administrator will then configure and install the metabase prior to the class opening date.
Q6: Can we use our own DBMS for the on-site workshop?
Answer: In all likelihood, yes. Our installation specialist will work with your system administrator and provide a copy of the required SQL Schema DDL and our SQL DBMS requirements. It will be up to your database administrator to create the database, craft the various special SQL scripts, and to create the ODBC connections.
Q7: Does the Metabase Software System have named seat licenses?
Answer: Not exactly. Your metabase administrator maintains a set of metabase users for administration and security purposes. Metabase use is restricted only on the basis of the quantity of max concurrent users you purchased in your license. E.g. If you have a ten user version, then any ten users that have a valid username and password may be logged into the metabase software system at one time.
Q8: Can I upgrade my metabase license to a larger quantity of concurrent users?
Answer: Yes, you can upgrade your licenses. Prior license fees apply towards the upgrade price.
Q9: If I attend a Lectures and Workshops version and then want to upgrade my metabase license, are there any credits towards the metabase license.
Answer: Yes, 50% of the Lectures and Workshop fees apply towards metabase license fees.
Q10: After the Lectures & Workshop course and upon returning to my organization that uses a different repository or CASE tool, is my metadata now stuck in the Metabase?
Answer: Certainly not! A key design consideration of the Metabase Software System was to ensure that your metadata is never trapped in a proprietary structure or format. The Metabase's schema is explicit; its engine is SQL. You can see all the database tables, columns, and relationships through any ODBC SQL utility, such as the free ODBC utility that comes with Mimer, or utilities like WinSQL. You can extract the Metabase's [meta]data and import it to your own repository or CASE tool if it has import capability. In the case of data models, you can always generate the data model's SQL DDL and then if your tool permits, import that SQL DDL. See also Question 6.
Q11: If my current metadata is trapped in an ER, CASE, or Repository environment and I want to get it into the Metabase Software System, how do I do that?
Answer: If you wish to extract your ER, CASE, or Repository environment's metadata and store it into the metabase, just extract that data to CSV and load it through the various SQL utilities that come with Mimer, or a similar one like WinSQL. In the case of data models that may be stored in your ER, CASE, or Repository environment, if your tool supports the generation of SQL DDL from those data models, then you can use Metabase SQL DDL loaders to import those data models. Either way, we are always available to provide telephone support, and if necessary to provide fee-based technical support in creating specially designed extracts-transform-and-load programs. The real cost here is in the original creation of your metadata, not in its extraction and loading into the metabase. You can always then export data models from the Metabase and re-import and display them with your ER tool. You can also purchase new ER modeling tools for just about $200 for importing and displaying ER models. WinSQL, an ODBC SQL client tool (about $400 for the "pro" version), has ER modeling as a fundamental capability. See also Question 6 and 10.
Q12: Suppose I want to write custom programs against a Metabase's database, how can I do that?
Answer: Simple. Because the Metabase Software System's database schema is explicit, and because the Metabase's DBMS engine is SQL you can use any programming language agent you wish, be it C, C++, C#, VB, Java (via JDBC) - or as we did - Clarion (www.SoftVelocity.com). Report writing is similarly simple by any reporting tool that supports ODBC, such as Crystal Reports or the Clarion report writer.
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