Data Structure Column Properties

You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open a data structure column property sheet, double-click its row in the Data structure Columns tab of a data input, an action or a data output property sheet or its Browser entry in the Data Structure Column folder under its parent object.

The General tab contains the following properties:

Property	Description
Name	Specifies the name of the item, which should be clear and meaningful, and should convey the item's purpose to non-technical users.
Code	Specifies the technical name of the item, which is used for generating code or scripts.
Comment	Specifies a descriptive comment for the object.
Stereotype	Extends the semantics of an object derived from existing objects but specific to your needs. You can type stereotypes directly in this field, or add stereotypes to the list by specifying them in your model's resource file or in an extended model definition.
Data type	Specifies the type of the column, such as numeric, alphanumeric, boolean, etc. The types available are either those of the transformation engine or, if you have not specified an engine, those of PowerDesigner. If you change the type of the transformation process, the data type used by the data structure column will be converted to its equivalent in the new transformation engine. For more information about data types, see Script/Data Type Category in the DBMS Resource File Reference chapter of the Customizing and Extending PowerDesigner manual.
Length	Specifies the maximum length of the data type.
Precision	Specifies the maximum number of places after the decimal point.
Mandatory	Specifies a column that must be assigned a not null value.
Default value	Specifies a default value for the data structure column.
Identifier	Specifies the data structure column as an identifier. This is useful when you update the target tables used to create a join.
Target object	[data structure column owned by a data output only] Specifies the target object in which the data structure column is loaded. You can use the tools to the right of the list to browse the complete tree of available objects or view the properties of the currently selected object.

Note:

If you change the type of the transformation process, the SQL functions used to build the source expression of a data structure column will be converted to its equivalent in the new transformation engine. For more information about SQL functions, see Keyword category in the DBMS Resource File Reference chapter of the Customizing and Extending PowerDesigner manual.