You can use the Properties view to
alter the properties of a database object and then generate and run
a DDL script to apply the changes to the database.
Before you begin
You must have the appropriate authority to alter objects
in the database. A connection to the database must also exist.
About this task
The steps in this task assume that you are changing a database
that is not a DB2® for Linux, UNIX, and Windows database.
You can change only one object at a time.
There is limited support
for preserving data when you alter an object. When you alter a table, IBM® Data
Studio determines
whether the modifications can be performed with an ALTER TABLE statement.
If an ALTER TABLE statement cannot support the requested modifications,
the generated DDL includes commands to create a backup of the original
table before creating the modified table. When a backup is required,
a statement to copy the backed-up data to the modified table is also
created. This statement is intended as a template for you to modify
as needed to support the unique requirements of the existing data
and table modifications.
Procedure
- Find the object that you want to alter in the Object
List or in the Data Source Explorer.
Restriction: You can use the Object
List only for DB2 for z/OS® databases that are version
8 or later.
- Optional: To determine if changing this object impacts
other objects, right-click the object and then click Analyze
Impact.
- Right-click the object and then click Alter.
Tip: Alternatively, you can select the object and
then click the

(
Edit)
icon in the
Properties view.
The object is displayed in the Properties view.
For databases that support the Object List, the
object is also displayed in the Object List with
an icon next to it to indicate that it is being altered.
- Use the properties tabs in the Properties view
to change the various attributes of the object.
For
more information about the attributes for an object, see Data object properties.
- When you are finished changing the attributes, click the
(Review and deploy
changes) icon. The Review and
Deploy dialog opens.
- Review the generated DDL.
When you are modifying
a table and the generated DDL includes commands to back up the existing
table, you might need to modify the DDL to copy the data from the
backup to the altered table. Use the generated DDL as a template.
You
cannot type directly in the DDL section of the dialog. If you want
to modify the generated DDL script, click Edit.
The script opens in the SQL and XQuery editor,
where you can modify and run the DLL. You can also use the editor
to start the Job Manager, where you can schedule a time to run the
script.
- If you are satisfied with the generated DDL
and want to run the DDL immediately, click Run and
then click Finish.
Results
The generated DDL is run on the database, and
the database object is changed according to the changes that you made
in the
Properties view. The
SQL Results view
displays the results, including any errors that occurred.
What to do next
Alter any objects that are impacted by the changes that you
made to this object.