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Column Object Type

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The column object corresponds to one database column in the database table that is represented by the parent table object definition. Each database column in the database table needs to have a corresponding column object definition. The important properties of the Column object type are as follows:

• 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.

    NOTE:  Defining a Column as a Char when the data being stored in the column is variable in length may cause the data to be padded with blank spaces in order to make up the full size of the length of the column. This may cause problems in Siebel Remote.

  • Long. Long text. You can store approximately 16K worth of data in long columns. By default, you cannot have char greater than 1. If you want, you need to set the preference under Options/Database.
  • Varchar. Variable-length text. Used for memo-type fields and to store row-ID and foreign key values.
  • 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.
• Type. Indicates which of the following styles describes the column:
  • Data (Public). Public data columns are among the original set of columns implemented in Siebel applications. They hold data that is made available through fields to developers and users.
  • Data (Private). Private data columns are reserved for Siebel use only; they apply to tables used to manage the EIM process (for example, interface tables).
  • Denormalized. A denormalized column duplicates the data in a column in another (base) table for performance reasons. The table and column names of the duplicated column are specified in the Denormalization Path property of the Column object definition of the denormalized column. The denormalized column should not be in the same table as the column whose data it duplicates.
  • Extension. An extension column is generally not used by standard Siebel applications. It is used only in reconfigured applications. There are three kinds of extension columns: standard extension columns, custom extension columns in a base table, and custom extension columns in an extension table.
  • 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.

    NOTE:  Interface tables also contain special columns, such as IF_ROW_STAT and IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM. These columns are related to EIM processing, but you can modify the contents of these columns. They have a type of System rather than IFMGR: xxx.

  • 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.

NOTE:  When configuring a custom extension column, you should set only the following properties: Comments, Default, Foreign Key Table Name, Inactive, LOV Bounded, LOV Type, Name, Unable, Physical Type, Precision, Scale, Text Length, and the Translation Table Name (this property should be set to S_LST_OF_VAL for multilingual list of values).

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