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There are different types of data sources. The most common ones to be defined in MINT are the following:
<ul>
<li>'''JDBC data source:''' Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is a Java-based data access technology. It allows access to relational databases, such as Postgres, MySQL, etc. For each database technology, a specific driver is needed. In both MINT and lightMINT, drivers Drivers for Postgres and MySQL are includedin MINT, others might need to be installed on request.</li><li>'''JNDI data source:''' Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) is also a Java-based technology to connect to and query data. It is defined directly on the (MINT/lightMINT) server, centrally and only once. The advantages over a JDBC connection are in maintainability and performance - JNDI manages pools of connections instead of opening many separate connections on the database if several processes are accessing the data simultaneously.</li>
<li>'''Virtual data source:''' this type of data source allows combining multiple JDBC and JNDI data sources in order to make them available through a [[Creating MINT Domains|domain]]. This is very useful if several databases/data sources, e.g. IMSMA and an additional source, need to be analyzed together. In such a case, it is crucial though to identify a common key that allows joining the data sets.</li>
</ul>
There are two easy ways of creating a data source:
<ol>
<li>In MINT, in the top menu, click Click on '''Create → Data Source'''</li><li>In MINT and lightMINT: rightRight-click on the folder in which the data source should be stored, and choose '''Add Resource → Data Source'''</li>
</ol>
[[File:MINT_add_data_source.png|center]]
<li>'''Database:''' name of the database to connect to, e.g. staging.</li>
<li>'''URL:''' this is the full URL connection to the database. It is filled automatically, in the right syntax, with the information entered above (host, port, database).</li>
<li>'''User Name:''' name of a database user that can connect to the database. For example, the user imsma can usually connect to the staging area. It is recommended though to define a read-only user on the database and use this one to connect with from MINT/lightMINT.</li>
<li>'''Password:''' password of the above defined database user.</li>
<li>'''Time Zone:''' leave the default (Use database setting) - the time zone of the database is then the reference time zone.</li>
<li>'''Port:''' port on which the database is running on the host defined above. The default port number for Postgres is 5432.</li>
<li>'''Database:''' name of the database to connect to, e.g. staging.</li>
<li>'''User Name:''' name of a database user that can connect to the database. For example, the user imsma can usually connect to the staging area. It is recommended though to define a read-only user on the database and use this one to connect with from MINT/lightMINT.</li>
<li>'''Password:''' password of the above defined database user.</li>
</ul>
