Components of a Data Type Definition: Criteria and Attributes

A data type definition consists of two separate database definitions:

• The DATA_ATTRIBUTES definition.

  The DATA_ATTRIBUTES definition describes the data type's name and the appearance and behavior of files of this type.

• The DATA_CRITERIA definition.

  The DATA_CRITERIA definition describes the typing criteria. Each criteria definition specifies the DATA_ATTRIBUTES definition to which the criteria apply.

There must be at least one DATA_CRITERIA definition for each DATA_ATTRIBUTES definition; a DATA_ATTRIBUTES definition can have multiple DATA_CRITERIA associated with it.

For example, you could create an attributes definition for PostScript files that described how PostScript files look and behave in File Manager. Then, you could create two separate criteria for the PostScript data type— one based on file name and the other based on file content.

For more information, see Defining the Data Criteria for a Data Type.