Data Formats

The data in the SMM/Cost Monitor database is maintained in an SQL (structured query language) database. Firebird© has been chosen to provide this database service. SMM is a client/server application that means that some of the processing for the data is carried out on the server and some is carried out on the client PC. For most purposes, the knowledge of the data format is not required by the end user. There are, however, times when data is exported from the database in a form which is compatible with other applications.

An instance of data export is when programs data is exported into .CSV file format to permit Microsoft Project© to read and create a construction program. Refer to Exporting to Microsoft Project© for further information on the data format of these intermediate files.

For the purpose of documentation completeness, a database structure report is included here which details the data structure of the SQL database.