Determines whether Replication Agent converts the primary database native temporal datatypes to the Sybase datetime format.
false
true – Replication Agent converts all data in the primary database native date/time datatype(s) to the Sybase datetime format.
false – Replication Agent replicates data in the primary database native date/time datatype(s) as character strings using the char datatype.
The pdb_convert_datetime parameter is provided for backward compatibility with previous versions of Replication Agents and Replication Server. If you use Replication Server version 12.0 or later, Sybase recommends that you use the Replication Server heterogeneous datatype support (HDS) for all datatype conversion and translation.
Replication Agent checks the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter at the time an object is marked for replication. Transaction log objects that support replication of the marked object are constructed to provide the desired date format. If you change the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter after an object is marked, it has no effect on the marked object. To change the date/time datatype conversion for a marked object, you must unmark the object, change the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter, then re-mark the object.
The actual conversion of the date/time datatype takes place at the time an operation is recorded in the transaction log.
Any missing component in the primary database native date/time datatype format is treated as an implied 0 (zero) value when it is converted to the Sybase datetime format.
When the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter is true, the replication definition for each table should specify that the declared datatype for all date/time columns is datetime.
If the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter is false, the Replication Agent sends date/time columns to the primary Replication Server as default-sized character strings. The default date/time character string length varies for each database and each date/time datatype:
DB2 Universal Database: DATE = char(10), TIME = char(8), TIMESTAMP = char(16)
Informix: date = char(9), datetime = char(25)
Microsoft SQL Server: datetime or smalldatetime = char(23), timestamp = binary(8)
Oracle: DATE = char(11)
If the primary database date/time datatype format requires a longer string to replicate correctly, you can either set the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter to true, or modify the trigger-based Replication Agent table marking script (mark.sql) to set up larger shadow table date/time columns.
If all date/time values replicated from the primary database are replicated using the Sybase datetime datatype, then the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter should be set to true.
Replication Agent date/time datatype conversion does not work with LOB column replication, unless either of the following conditions exist:
There are no date/time columns in the tables that have LOB column replication enabled, or
The primary keys in tables that have LOB column replication enabled do not contain date/time datatypes.
Otherwise, if you use the pdb_setrepcol command to enable LOB column replication, you must set the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter to false.
Sybase recommends that the value of the pdb_convert_datetime parameter be set to false for better Replication Agent logging performance and optimal datatype handling.
