Database dictionary data types

Service Manager uses the following data types to describe field data.

Data type Purpose Typical RDBMS mapping
Number Assumes field data consist of numeric data. Service Manager maps number fields to RDBMS data types reserved for numerical data, such as FLOAT or NUMBER.
Character Assumes field data consist of alphanumeric characters (numbers, letters, special characters). Service Manager maps character fields to RDBMS data types reserved for alphanumeric data, such as VARCHAR or VARCHAR2.
Date/time Assumes field data contain a Service Manager formatted date or time. Service Manager date/time formats include:
  • MM/DD/YY HH:MM:SS
  • MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS
  • DD HH:MM:SS
Service Manager maps date/time fields to RDBMS data types reserved for date/time data, such as TIMESTAMP or DATE.
Logical Assumes the field data contain one of the following logical values: true, false, NULL or unknown. Logical fields accept yes or no values for input, but the server converts them to true or false values when stored. Service Manager maps logical fields to RDBMS data types reserved for single character data, such as CHAR.
Array The field data are compound data elements that contain one or more elements of a single data type or a structure field. Service Manager maps array fields to RDBMS data types reserved for character large object (CLOB) data, such as TEXT.
Structure The field data are compound data elements that contain several subfields, each of which may have a different data type. Structures must be child elements of an array field. Service Manager maps structure fields that are within an array field to RDBMS data types reserved for binary large object (BLOB) data, such as IMAGE.
Expression The field data contain parsed Rapid Application Development (RAD) language expressions. Service Manager maps expression fields to RDBMS data types reserved for binary large object (BLOB) data, such as IMAGE.
Label The field data contain system data used and are not intended for customer data. Service Manager does not map label fields to any RDBMS data type.
Record The field data contain system data and are not intended for customer data. Service Manager does not map record fields to any RDBMS data type.

Related topics

Database dictionary
Database dictionary data types
Database dictionary records

Add a field to an existing database dictionary record
Update the data type of a database dictionary field

Service Manager Programming