Defining Subscription Classes

Subscribers define what information they want from a notification application by creating subscriptions. Each subscription defines which types of events interest the subscriber. For example, each subscription for a weather application might require the name or ID of a city. When a subscriber creates a subscription, the subscriber specifies a city. Notification Services sends weather notifications for the specified city to the subscriber.

Subscription data is stored in the application database. To define the storage for this data and rules for generating notifications, you must define one or more subscription classes. You define each subscription class in an XML application definition file (ADF) or programmatically by using Notification Services Management Objects (NMO).

The following list shows the typical steps for defining a subscription class.

  1. Name the subscription class.
  2. Optionally, designate a SQL Server filegroup for the subscription class objects.
  3. Define the subscription class schema, which describes the fields that subscribers can define for their subscriptions.
  4. Define one or more subscription rules, which generate notifications and can perform other data management tasks.
  5. Optionally, provide indexes for your subscription class.
  6. Optionally, define one or more subscription chronicles, which store supplemental subscription data.

Your application can have multiple subscription classes for multiple types of subscriptions. For example, a stock application might have one subscription class for notifications about current stock prices, and another subscription class for end-of-day notifications about each subscriber's portfolio. Both of the subscription classes can use the same stock event data, but they support different types of subscriptions.

When Notification Services creates the application, it uses the information in each subscription class to implement SQL Server objects, such as tables, views, and indexes, for the subscription classes.

In This Section

Topic Description

Defining the Core Subscription Class

Describes core subscription class properties and provides links to reference topics describing how to set these properties in XML and NMO.

Defining the Subscription Schema

Describes how subscription data is stored in database tables and how to define the fields for those tables.

Defining Subscription Rules

Describes how to use subscription rules to generate notifications and update chronicle data. Includes recommendations for creating efficient notification generation queries.

Defining Indexes for a Subscription Class

Describes how to use custom indexes on subscription data to improve application performance.

Defining Chronicles for a Subscription Class

Describes how to use subscription chronicles to store and use supplemental subscription data.

Collecting Subscription-Related Information

Describes how subscription-related information is submitted to the Notification Services system.

Topic Description

Developing Subscription Management Interfaces

Describes using subscription management applications to add, delete, and modify subscriber and subscription data.

Notification Services Stored Procedures (Transact-SQL)

Describes using the debugging, troubleshooting, and analysis stored procedures to gather information about subscription classes, subscribers, and subscriptions.

See Also

Concepts

Defining the Application Database
Specifying Generator Settings
Specifying Distributor Settings
Specifying Application Execution Settings

Other Resources

Defining Notification Services Applications
Defining Event Classes
Defining Notification Classes
Defining Event Providers

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance