New Data Element wizard

Enter the fields of this wizard to create a Data Element.

Project
Select a project in the list or enter the name of the project where the instance is to be saved.

A project represents the physical distribution of your instances in your workspace. It groups directories and files. It is used to organize resources that can be built, shared, or versioned.

A Rational® Programming Patterns project contains a subset of files that correspond to the design and the generated sources of an application.

Name
This name references the Data Element independently of any Data Structure, Report, or Screen where the Data Element is called. Then, it is not necessary to include the name of a Report, Screen, or Segment name in the Data Element name because it will be automatically added upon generation.

The Data Element name consists of alphabetic or numeric characters only. The following table lists the Data Element names that cannot be created.

Table 1. List of reserved Data Element names
Name Reserved for
FILLER Field alignment
ENPR

GRPR

ERUT

Data Element error check in transaction files

Segment error check in transaction files

User-defined errors in transaction files

Inherits from
A Data Element is an elementary concept. In your applications, you might want to use several technical variants of this concept. To guarantee the coherence of your data, you manage these variants by creating parent and child Data Elements.

All the Data Elements from the same family are logically linked in the database. A child Data Element cannot be a parent as well. The inheritance tree of the current instance displays its parent, if any, and its children, if any.

To specify a parent Data Element, click Change and select a Data Element in the selection wizard.

This wizard displays the three Data Element formats in the following order: internal format, input format, and output format.

Internal format
This format, which is displayed in the Overview tab, is required, except if the Data Element is a Property.

The internal format is used when the Data Element is called in one of the following components:

  • An application file (permanent file, database, temporary file).
  • A Screen as a data-entry field, if no conversational format was specified. See the type of line field in the -D Lines tab of the Data Element editor.
This format is automatically transferred into the Segments where the Data Element is called. But you eventually select the appropriate format in the -CD Lines tab of the Programs that call these Segments.

You must ensure the compatibility between the input and internal formats.

The length that corresponds to the format is automatically computed and displayed. If you modify the format, you must save the Data Element so that the length can be computed again.

The internal format must be coded like a COBOL picture (without print characters).
Notes:
  • If the format of a numeric Data Element is more than 10 characters long, you must omit the 9 that would normally be entered after the V. For example, S9(10)V9(3) must be entered as S9(10)V(3). This way of coding must not be used when the format is shorter than 10 characters.
  • For Unicode-type Data Elements, you must indicate N(n) or a signed or unsigned numeric format.
The INTERNAL USAGE clause is associated with this format.
Note: If a Unicode-type Data Element has a signed numeric internal format, its internal usage must be X or 1.
Data Elements that represent a date can be assigned a symbolic format.
Table 2. Symbolic formats for dates
Symbolic value Meaning
D Without century (DDMMYY or MMDDYY)
I Without century (YYMMDD)
E Without century (DD/MM/YY or MM/DD/YY)
S With century (CCYYMMDD)
C With century (DDMMCCYY or MMDDCCYY)
M With century (DD/MM/CCYY or MM/DD/CCYY)
G Gregorian format (CCYY-MM-DD)
T Time format (HH:MM:SS)
TS Timestamp format
Note: For the formats that include a separator (E, G, M, and T), you can specify a separator after the character that represents the format if you do not want to use the default separator. For example, G/ generates CCYY/MM/DD instead of CCYY-MM-DD, which is the default Gregorian format.

For details on the use of the formats with the various types of Database Blocks, see the summary tables in chapter Columns: Data Elements of the Relational SQL Database Description manual at this URL:

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=37&uid=swg27005477

Generation parameters
Generation parameters are specified in Libraries. These parameters are related to the adaptation to the operating system in use.

You select the Library by clicking Browse.

Label
Enter the label that identifies the instance. It will constitute a search criterion upon a subsequent search.
Note: If the label of a child Data Element is not specified, the label of its parent Data Element is displayed in the Design Explorer view, impact analysis search result views, and selection lists.
Open editor on finish
Select this check box if you want to open the editor of the instance you are creating. The editor opens on the Overview tab. From there, you can access the other tabs to specify all the characteristics of the instance.

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