Table Definitions and Instances

You must create both a Table definition and a Table instance, and install the instance in the database.

See Object Definitions and Instances, and their Containers for further information.

The Table definition is a metadata representation of a Table that includes most of the detailed specifications of the Table, including the number of Columns, the name, data type and length of each Column, and primary key, unique key, and check constraints.

The Table instance contains a pointer to the Table definition and a few details such as a mapping to at least one Table Descriptor contained in a Program or other executable instance. To actually store data in a table, you must install the Table instance in the database. The installation process instantiates the metadata from both the Table instance and the Table definition to which it points in the database to create a database table. Some attributes belong to both the definition and the instance. In this case, you can overwrite the value in the instance, and the installation process creates a database table with the value specified for the instance. As with other object definitions in Oracle Life Sciences Data Hub, you can create multiple instances of the same Table definition.