Query documents could also include computer code and resources needed to support this process, for instance, a dialog box asking for the username and password.
Low Level allowed the programmer to intercede at any point in the query process, retrieving data line-by-line for instance.
Prior to the development of DAM, Apple had purchased a database middleware product they sold as the Data Access Language, or DAL.
Standards for SQL were extremely basic at the time, and relatively poorly supported, DAL addressed this by having a single language and converting to and from the other systems.
Client software, including DAM, could send queries in DAL's standard language which would then be translated and executed regardless of the back-end database.
In contrast, ODBC was developed from the start to be a SQL-based system, based on the standardized Call-Level Interface from X/Open (now part of the Open Group).
Since it was expected that DAL would be providing query standardization, DAM had no layer similar to ODBC's for translating different dialects.
Nor were any simple interfaces for text files or similar data sources included with basic DAM installs.
Combining HyperCard's excellent forms system with data from DAM resulted in something that no-one had ever seen before data-driven GUI apps.
Reorders for more stock could be made by dragging a series of ice cream scoops on a graphical display of the current warehoused inventory.