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Using data objects

The Shockwave Multiuser Server can store information for you in four different types of data objects. A data object is simply a container that holds data that you put into it. You decide what kinds of objects to use and what data to put into them. Which kind of data object you use depends on the kind of information you want to store and what that information will be used for. You can define as many objects of each type as you need to.

The following are the four types of data objects you can use to store information:

DBUser is the type of object you should use if you are storing information about a user that is specific to the user but not to any particular movie they might use, such as an e-mail address.

DBPlayer is used to store information that is specific to both the user and a particular game they are playing, such as their high score. Since a user may use many different multiuser movies with your Multiuser Server, they might have many `DBPlayer` objects but just one `DBUser` object.

DBApplication objects are used to store information that is specific to a particular movie, such as the highest score ever achieved in a particular game.

DBApplicationData objects are appropriate for information that will be read-only, such as map data for an adventure game. Typically there will be more than one `DBApplicationData` object for each `DBApplication`. For example, in a trivia game you might use `DBApplicationData` objects for configuration information such as lists of trivia questions, buzzer and bell sounds, or suits the host might wear. Each of these would be stored in its own `DBApplicationData` object.