Configuring Siebel eBusiness Applications > Configuring Tables and Columns >

About Columns

Column object definitions are representations of the physical columns in the underlying database management system. The name, data type, length, primary key and foreign key status, alias, and other properties of the database column are recorded as properties in the corresponding column object definition. Additional properties internal to Siebel applications are provided in the object definition, such as the Changed and Inactive statuses, and Type (a classification for column object definitions).

Column Properties

The important properties of the Column object type are listed below. For a complete list of object properties, see Object Types Reference.

• Name. Provides the name of the database column in the database table.
• Default. Provides a default value when new rows of this table are added.
• Physical Type (Physical Type Name). Identifies the data type of the column in the database. The following data types are supported:
  • Character. Used for fixed-length text. Also used for Boolean columns, which are character columns with a length of 1. By default, you cannot have char greater than 1. To change the default setting, you need to set the preference in View > Options > Database.

    NOTE:  Defining a Column as a Char when the data being stored in the column is variable in length will cause the data to be padded with blank spaces in the database. It is recommend that you use the varchar data type for all but Boolean columns implemented as CHAR(1).

  • Long. Long text. You can store approximately 16K worth of data in long columns.
  • Varchar. Variable-length text. Used for memo-type fields and to store row-ID and foreign key values. Used for most alphanumeric columns in the Siebel data model including ROW_ID, foreign key, LOV, and other free-form text columns.
  • Number. Any numeric data. Typical numeric columns in Siebel applications are 22,7 for general-purpose numbers, and 10,0 for integers.

    Data of this type is limited to 16 digits without a decimal point or 15 digits before a decimal point.

  • UTC Date Time. Time is saved in Greenwich mean time.
  • Date. Date values only, without time.
  • Date Time. Combined date and time values in the same column.
  • Time. Time values only, without the date.
• Precision. Specifies the maximum number of digits in a number column. For noninteger columns, the precision is 22. For integer columns, the precision is 10.
• Scale. Specifies the maximum number of digits after the decimal point. For noninteger columns, the scale is 7. For integer columns, the scale is 0.
• Primary Key. If TRUE, this column is the primary key for the table. With minor exceptions, the ROW_ID column in a table is the primary key, and has a TRUE value for this property.
  • IFMGR: xxx. These columns have names such as IFMGR: ROW_ID and IFMGR: Status. They are found in interface tables, and are for internal use by the Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager.
  • System. System columns appear in all tables in Siebel applications. However, no one set of system columns appears in every table. You can use the data in system columns for various purposes, although most system columns are read-only.
• Nullable. True/false value that specifies whether or not NULL can be stored in this column by the database.
• Foreign Key Table. Specifies the table to which this column is a foreign key, used by EIM. Leave NULL in extension columns.
• User Key Sequence. The sequence in the user key where this column fits.
• LOV Bounded. A TRUE or FALSE value. If LOV Bounded is TRUE, EIM will check the values as it imports against the values contained in a list defined in LOV Type. In that case, LOV data should be imported first into S_LST_OF_VAL, and LOV Type must be specified. This property is read-only for standard columns in Siebel applications but is editable for custom extension columns.
• LOV Type. Specifies the list of values domain in which this column is validated. Used in conjunction with the LOV Bounded property. List of values domains are defined in List of Values Administration in the client. This property is read-only for standard columns in Siebel applications but is editable for custom extension columns.