xRestrict Object Type to

Restrict candidates for synonym creation based on the selected object type(s): Tables, Views, External SQL Scripts, and any other supported objects.

Choosing External SQL Scripts from the drop-down list enables you to represent an SQL Query as a synonym for read-only reporting. A Synonym candidate can be any file that contains one (and only one) valid SQL Query and does not contain end-of-statement delimiters (";" or "/") and comments. For related information, see Location of External SQL Scripts in this chart.

Depending on adapter, you can further restrict your search by choosing check boxes for listed objects.

Important: If you select Stored Procedures as your object type, the input parameters will be a little different from those described here. For details, see Reporting Against a Teradata Stored Procedure.

xFilter by Owner/Schema and Object name

Selecting this option adds the Owner/Schema and Object Name parameters to the screen.

Owner/Schema. Type a string for filtering the selection, inserting the wildcard character (%) as needed at the beginning and/or end of the string. For example, enter: ABC% to select tables or views whose owner/schema begin with the letters ABC; %ABC to select tables or views whose owner/schema end with the letters ABC; %ABC% to select tables or views whose owner/schema contain the letters ABC at the beginning, middle, or end.

Object name. Type a string for filtering the object names, inserting the wildcard character (%) as needed at the beginning and/or end of the string. For example, enter: ABC% to select all objects whose names begin with the letters ABC; %ABC to select all whose names end with the letters ABC; %ABC% to select all whose names contain the letters ABC at the beginning, middle, or end.

xLocation of External SQL Scripts

xExtension

If you specify External SQL Scripts in the Restrict Object type to field, these additional fields are displayed.

The following standard naming conventions apply for UNIX, i5/OS IFS, and z/OS HFS:

• In the Base Location field, specify the physical directory location of the file that contains the SQL Query. You can type a directory name or click on the ellipses. This opens the Select Base Location dialogue.
• In the Document Name field, enter the file name with or without wild card characters.
• In the Document Extension field, enter the extension of the script files to filter the list of candidates.

On i5/OS you can use alternative IFS naming conventions to access library members. The following entry illustrates this method:

• In the Base Location field, enter:

  /QSYS.LIB/MYLIBRARY.LIB/MYSRC.FILE

• The Document Extension is understood to be MBR. You can enter this value explicitly or leave the input box blank.

During synonym generation, the adapter issues native API calls to obtain a list of elements in the select list and builds the Master File with a field for each element. The generated Access File references the location of the SQL script in the DATASET attribute, which contains the full path, including the name and extension of the file containing the SQL Query. For example,

DATASET=/ul/home2/apps/report3.sql

When a WebFOCUS report is created, the SQL Query is used to access data.

xCardinality

Select the Cardinality check box to reflect the current cardinality (number of rows or tuples) in the table during metadata creation. Cardinality is used for equi-joins. The order of retrieval is based on the size (cardinality) of the table. Smaller tables are read first.

If the cardinality of the tables to be used in the application are dynamic, it may not be beneficial to choose this setting.

xWith foreign key

Select the With foreign key check box to include within this synonym every table related to the current table by a foreign key. The resulting multi-table synonym describes all of this table’s foreign key relationships.

xDynamic columns

To specify that the Master File created for the synonym should not contain column information, select the Dynamic columns check box.

If this option is selected, column data is retrieved dynamically from the data source at the time of the request.

Select Application

Select an application directory. The default value is baseapp.

xPrefix/Suffix

If you have tables with identical table names, assign a prefix or a suffix to distinguish them. For example, if you have identically named human resources and payroll tables, assign the prefix HR to distinguish the synonyms for the human resources tables. Note that the resulting synonym name cannot exceed 64 characters.

If all tables and views have unique names, leave prefix and suffix fields blank.

xCustomize data type mappings

To change the data type mappings from their default settings, select this check box. The customizable mappings are displayed. For information about them, see Data Type Support.

Overwrite Existing Synonyms

To specify that this synonym should overwrite any earlier synonym with the same fully qualified name, select the Overwrite existing synonyms check box.

Note: The connected user must have operating system write privileges in order to recreate a synonym.

Default Synonym Name

This column displays the name that will be assigned to each synonym. To assign a different name, replace the displayed value.

Owner/Schema

The user account that created the object or a collection of objects owned by a user.

Type

The object type (Table, View, and so on).

Select tables

Select tables for which you wish to create synonyms:

• To select all tables in the list, click the Select All button.
• To select specific tables, select the corresponding check boxes.

SEGNAME

Value must be identical to the SEGNAME value in the Master File.

TABLENAME

Name of the table or view. This value can include a location or owner name as follows:

TABLENAME=[location.][owner.]tablename

Note: Location is valid only with DB2 CAF and specifies the subsystem location name.

CONNECTION

Indicates a previously declared connection. The syntax is:

CONNECTION=connection

KEYS

Indicates how many columns constitute the primary key for the table. Range is 0 to 64. Corresponds to the first n fields in the Master File segment.

WRITE

Specifies whether write operations are allowed against the table.

KEYFLD
IXFLD

Supply the names of the primary key and foreign key fields that implement the relationships established by the multi-table Master File. Together, KEYFLD and IXFLD identify the field shared by a related table pair.

• KEYFLD is the FIELDNAME of the common column from the parent table.
• IXFLD is the FIELDNAME of the common column from the related table.

KEYFLD and IXFLD must have the same data type. It is recommended, but not required, that their lengths also be the same.

Note: An RDBMS index on both the KEYFLD and IXFLD columns provides the RDBMS with a greater opportunity to produce efficient joins. The columns must have the same data type. If their length is the same, the RDBMS handles the join more efficiently.

AUTO
INCREMENT

Set to Yes to enable auto-incrementing.

START

Initial value in the incrementing sequence.

INCREMENT

Increment interval.

Edit

Opens the Master File for viewing and editing using a graphical interface. If an Access file is used it will be also available.

Edit as Text

Enables you to view and manually edit the Master File synonym.

Note: To update the synonym, it is strongly recommended that you use the graphical interface provided by the Edit option, rather than manually editing the Master File.

Edit Access File as Text

Enables you to view and manually edit the Access File synonym.

Note: This option is available only when an Access File is created as part of the synonym.

Sample Data

Retrieves up to 20 rows from the associated data source.

Data Profiling

Data Profiling provides the data characteristics for synonym columns.

Alphanumeric columns provide the count of distinct values, total count, maximum, minimum, average length, and number of nulls.

Numeric columns provide the count of distinct values, total count, maximum, minimum, average value, and number of nulls.

Refresh Synonym (if applicable)

Regenerates the synonym. Use this option if the underlying object has been altered.

Data Management

Followed by these options, if applicable:

Recreate DBMS Table. Recreates the data source table. You are asked to confirm this selection before the table is regenerated. (Note that the table will be dropped and recreated. During the process, data may be lost.)

Delete All Data. Deletes all existing data. You are asked to confirm this selection before the data is deleted.

Insert Sample Data. Inserts specified number of sample records, populating all fields with counter values.

Impact Analysis

Generates reports on procedures, synonyms, and columns that provide information on the flows/stored procedures available on a particular server, and the synonyms and columns they use. These reports enable you to evaluate changes before they are made by showing which components will be affected. See the Server Administration for UNIX, Windows, OpenVMS, i5/OS, and z/OS manual for details about Impact Analysis Reports.

Copy

Copies the synonym to clipboard.

Delete

Deletes the synonym. You are asked to confirm this selection before the synonym is deleted.

Cut

Deletes the synonym and places it in clipboard.

Properties

Displays the properties of the synonym, including physical location, last modified date, and description.