1. Application Developer's Guide
  2. Defining Tables
  3. Defining Table Columns
  4. Create a New Column and Variable

Create a New Column and Variable

To create a new Column definition and instance at the same time, enter the following information:

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
    • Name. See Naming Objects.

      Note:

      Do not use special characters in column names, except underscore (_). If you do use other special characters, Oracle Life Sciences Data Hub automatically converts them to underscores in the SAS Name, whose default value is derived from the Name. For example, if you upload a column with the name COL$UMN, Oracle LSH automatically converts the name to COL_UMN in the SAS Name.
    • Description. See Creating and Using Object Descriptions.
    • Data Type. Select one of the following from the drop-down list.
      • VARCHAR2. Specifies a variable-length character string. For each row, the system stores each value in the Column as a variable-length field unless a value exceeds the Column's maximum length, in which case the system returns an error.
      • NUMBER. Stores zero, positive, and negative fixed and floating-point numbers. A Number Column can contain a number with or without a decimal marker and/or a sign (-). All standard rules for the Oracle Number data type apply.
      • DATE. For each Date value, Oracle stores the following information: century, year, month, date, hour, minute, and second. Although date and time information can be represented in both character and number datatypes, the Date datatype has special associated properties.
    • Length. The maximum number of bytes or characters of data that the Column can hold. The requirements vary according to the data type:
      • VARCHAR2. A value for length is required and must be between 1 and 4000 characters.
      • DATE. The system disregards the length value, if any.
      • NUMBER. A value for length is optional.You can leave the length and precision null, and Oracle LSH treats the number column as having the maximum possible length.
    • Precision. (This field appears only if you select a data type of NUMBER.) The total number of digits allowed. For example, if Precision is set to 2 and a data value is 34.333 is entered in this Column, the system stores the data value as 34.33. Oracle guarantees the portability of numbers with precision ranging from 1 to 38.
    • Oracle Name. Name to use for the Column in PL/SQL source code. The value defaults from the Name value, converted to uppercase and with underscores substituted for spaces. You can change the default value.
    • SAS Name. Name to use for the Column in SAS source code. Enter text or accept the default value. The system automatically creates the default from the text you entered in the Name field, converting it to uppercase, with underscores (_) substituted for spaces.
    • SAS Label (Optional) Enter up to 200 characters.
    • SAS Format Required:
      • For columns of VARCHAR2 data type, by default, the system enters a dollar sign ($) followed by the value you entered in the Length field.
      • For columns of NUMBER data type, by default, the system enters a period/full stop (.).
    • Default Value (optional). You can enter a value to serve as the default for this Column.
    • Nullable. If set to Yes, null values are allowed in this column. If set to No, each row must have a value in this column.
  2. In the Classification section, select the following for the Variable:
  3. Click Apply to save your work and continue defining the Table.

    The system opens the Properties screen for the new Table instance.

Parent topic: Defining Table Columns