====== setActualType ======
~~NOTOC~~
<WRAP right box>
From ABOdb V5.21
== See Also ==
[[v5:dictionary:getactualtype|getActualType()]]\\
[[v5:dictionary:metatype|metaType()]]

== Syntax ==
  bool setActualType(
      string $metaType,
      string $actualType,
      optional bool $newType
  )
  
</WRAP>
===== Description =====
The method ''setActualType()'' either modifies the database specific data type for a given [[v5:dictionary:metatype]], or provides the ability to create a new one. The returned value indicates the success of the operation. 

If the method is used to create a new ''actualType'', then the optional bool $newType must be set.

A connection to a data dictionary object is required, but a database connection is not.
===== Usage ====
In this example we want to change the behavior of the mssqlnative driver, so that instead of the default ''datetime'' type associated with the ''D'' metatype, we want to use data dictionary functions to create a more portable ''date'' type (available since SQL Server 2008).
<code php>
$db = newAdoConnection('mssqlnative');
$dict = NewDataDictionary($db);

$dict->setActualType('D','DATE');
</code>
In the second example, we will create a new **actual type** so that we can use the ADOdb dictionary function to create tables containing geospatial information.

<code php>
$db = newAdoConnection('mysqli');
$dict = NewDataDictionary($db);

$dict->setActualType('G','GEOMETRY',true); //must provide optional 3rd argument
$dict->setActualType('P','POINT',true);

/*
 * Add 2 new columns to table
*/
$columns = 'GEODATA_COL G, POINTDATA_COL P';
$sqlarray = $dict->addColumnSql('POSITION_TABLE',$columns);
 
print_r($sqlarray);
 
/*
 * Prints
Array
(
 [0] => ALTER TABLE POSITION_TABLE ADD GEODATA_COL GEOMETRY
 [1] => ALTER TABLE POSITION_TABLE ADD POINTDATA_COL POINT
)
*/

</code>