FCAS applications can connect to any ODBC-compliant database (ODBC is the industry standard for relational database access). An FCAS form can tie into multiple database tables and multiple databases and the databases can be on different servers. For fields that will always contain data from the same source (the same column in a database table), you can create bound columns database applications. This type of application ties fields to the appropriate database columns, providing a simple point-and-click interface that makes database information quickly accessible to users. For more flexibility, when you do not have fields that are bound to a particular data source, you can use nonbound database access. Examples of uses for nonbound database access are: •       forms with fields that can contain data from various sources, such as search results forms •       applications that don't use forms to display data, such as an application that generates FirstClass scripting script. To create a database application, you must create forms to search or display the data, then use SQL to find the data you want to display. You call SQL from your FCAS application source code. FCAS allows you to use BASIC code to manipulate the data and determine the look of the interface, and access FirstClass features such as security and permissions. FCAS handles the ODBC connection, so all you have to do is set up one Data Source Name (DSN) on your server, and you can then write programs that access that database from any location. Because you have access to FirstClass, you can also tie into a database to create users on FirstClass or change permissions or access levels inside the FirstClass system.