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Table of Contents
Dictionary Column Attributes
Add Argument Definitions
Description
When creating a column in a table using the dictionary methods, the information provided must confirm to the following specification. Each column created has a number of mandatory and optional parameters.
$fields is a string, not an array
Basic Syntax
The basic syntax of the attributes is as follows:
- All the information for the column must occur on a single line.
- The line ending may be a newline or carriage return/newline combination.
- Each attribute must be separated by at least one tab or space.
- The attributes must be specified in the order below
- Column Name
- Meta Attributes
- Optional Arguments
/* * Correct syntax */ $flds = " COL1 C(60) NOTNULL DEFAULT 'abc', COL2 I8 NOTNULL DEFAULT 0 "; /* * Incorrect syntax */ $flds = " COL1 C(60) NOTNULL DEFAULT 'abc', COL2 I8 NOTNULL DEFAULT 0 ";
Attributes
Column Name
- The column name must conform to any database specific standards related to naming and length.
- If required, use metaCasing to control the casing and optional quoting.
Meta Attributes
- The column attributes in terms of type and length must be specified in terms of ADODb metaType descriptions, not the database definition for the type.
Optional Arguments
The following optional arguments may also be assigned to the column, table or key. If the attribute is inappropriate for the operation or column type or not supported by the DBMS, it is ignored.
Usage: Column
AUTO
Creates the column as auto-increment. Support for this varies from one database to another. Some databases designate a field with an auto-increment flag as the primary key.
AUTOINCREMENT
Autoincrement is a synonym for AUTO
Usage: Index
CONSTRAINT
Usage: Column
DEF
DEF indicates a default value for a column when a row is created. Some databases also require a field with a default value to be designated as NOT NULL, so that is automatically added to the column string
DEFAULT
DEFAULT is a synonym for DEF
DEFDATE
DEFTIMESTAMP
INDEX
KEY
NOQUOTE
Usage: Column
NOTNULL
Usage: Index
PRIMARY
Usage: Index
UNIQUE
UNIQUE is an option against a key and indicates that duplicate values across all columns in the key are not allowed.