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 —  Adabas Manager Documentation  —

Field Definition Table (FDT)

This document is organized as follows:

Start of instruction setTo review the Field Definition Table (FDT) for a file:

  1. List the files in a database, as described in Listing Database Files.

  2. If an icon appears in the Fields column of the list of files table in detail-view, click on the icon.

    The FDT for the file appears in detail-view. The table provides the following information:

    Field Explanation
    Level the field level
    Name the field name
    Length the field length
    Format the data type of the field:
    A alphanumeric
    B binary
    F fixed point
    P packed decimal
    G floating point
    U unpacked decimal
    W wide-character
    Option
    DE descriptor
    FI fixed storage
    LA long alphanumeric
    LB large object field
    MU multiple-value field
    NC null/not counted
    NN null not allowed
    NU null value suppression
    NV not converted (alpha and wide-character fields)
    PE periodic group
    UQ unique descriptor
    XI index (occurrence) number excluded from UQ in PE
    Predict Name equivalent Predict name, if any

    When available, the Special Descriptor Table (SDT) is also displayed. It shows field information about all sub-/super-/hyperdescriptors, collation descriptors, phonetic descriptors, and sub-/superfields for the file.

    The table provides the following information:

    Column Explanation
    Type
    SUB subfield/subdescriptor
    SUPER superfield/superdescriptor
    PHON phonetic descriptor
    HYPER hyperdescriptor
    COL collation descriptor
    Name the field name
    Length the field length
    Option
    DE descriptor field
    FI fixed point
    LA long alphanumeric
    MU multiple-value field
    NC null/not counted
    NN null not allowed
    NU null value suppression
    NV not converted (alpha and wide-character fields)
    PE periodic group
    UQ unique descriptor
    XI index (occurrence) number excluded from UQ in PE
    Parent the name of the parent field for this descriptor.
    Predict Name equivalent Predict name, if any

Changing Field Parameters

Start of instruction setTo change field parameters:

  1. In the Field Definition Table (FDT), click on the name of the field you want to change the parameters for.

    The Change Field Parameters panel is displayed.

  2. To modify the standard length of an Adabas field, update the Length value as required. You can also select the LA option to change a normal alphanumeric (A) field to a long-alpha (LA) field. If the file is protected, supply the password.

  3. Click OK to save your entries or Cancel to return to the file list display.

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Releasing Descriptors

Field names listed in the Field Definition Table (FDT) with an option "DE" are descriptors. You can remove a descriptor by freeing the specified field's inverted list in the Associator.

Start of instruction setTo release a descriptor:

  1. In the Field Definition Table (FDT), click on the name of the field you want to release the descriptor for.

    The Change Field Parameters panel is displayed.

  2. Click on Release Descriptor to release the descriptor and return to the FDT.

  3. If a Special Descriptor Table (SDT) is shown, click on the name of the descriptor you want to release.

    The Change Field Parameters panel is displayed.

  4. Click on Release Descriptor.

  5. In the resulting panel, confirm that you want to release the descriptor by clicking on OK, or Cancel. Both options will return you to the FDT display.

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Predict Parameters

The following Predict parameters must be specified in the FDT to enable the display of the Predict field name of a file.

Start of instruction setTo set the Predict parameters:

  1. In the Field Definition Table (FDT), click on the name of the field you want to set the parameters for.

    The Change Field Parameters panel is displayed.

  2. In the upper left corner of the FDT display, click on the Properties button (graphics/fileprop.png).

    The Predict Parameters panel appears.

  3. Enter the following parameters:

    FDIC DBID The ID of the database containing the Predict repository.
    FDIC FNR The file number of the FDIC file.

  4. Click OK to save your entries or Cancel to return to the file list display.

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Adding New Fields in the Field Definition Table (FDT)

Start of instruction setTo add new fields in the Field Definition Table (FDT):

  1. In the Field Definition Table detail-view, click on Add.

    The Add New Fields panel for the file is displayed.

  2. Specify the new fields you want to add to the file.

  3. Click New to add more rows to the table if necessary.

  4. Click OK to save your modifications or Cancel to return to the previous panel.

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