A HELP TABLE request returns a set of attributes for each column in the specified table, as shown in the following table of attributes.
The columns or parameters are listed in the order in which they were defined.
| Attribute | Data Type | Nullable? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column Name | VARCHAR(30) | No | The name of a column in the
specified table. Interpret as the equivalent of CF, or CHARACTER(n) data type. When DATEFORM=ANSIDATE, this column should be described externally as CHARACTER(10). |
| Type | CHARACTER(2) | No | The data type for Column Name. The character data types Latin, Unicode, Graphic, KanjiSJIS, and Kanji1 are distinguished with respect to CF and CV by their respective value for the Character Type column. Default output format for the code is X(2). See Data Type Codes for a complete list of data types and codes. |
| Comment | VARCHAR (255) | Yes | The contents of the optional comment field for the table, if a comment was created |
| Nullable | CHARACTER | Yes | Whether the column accepts nulls.
|
| Format | VARCHAR(30) | Yes | The format for Column Name. The CHARACTER SET attribute for FORMAT is always Unicode regardless of the system language support mode and session character set. With an explicit format, DATE. The general rule for reporting column FORMAT attributes by HELP TABLE is that a format string is only reported when it does not match the default format for the column. The exception to this rule is columns that have the DATE data type. In this case, the system always reports the FORMAT string. With an implicit format created in INTEGERDATE mode, YYYY/MM/DD'. With an implicit format created in ANSIDATE mode, 'YYYY/MM/DD'. |
| Title | VARCHAR(60) | Yes | The title for the column, if a title exists. |
| Max Length | INTEGER | Yes | Maximum amount of storage in bytes. MaxLength is the length of the external CharFix representation of the column, defined as CHARACTER(MaxLength) in USING clauses and any other place this needs to be specified. MaxLength for the DATE type is 4, representing the internal storage size. Note that while MaxLength is usually expressed as the internal size, presentation of the external size is more appropriate for these data types. See the external representation for each individual DateTime and Interval type in Teradata Vantage™ - Data Types and Literals, B035-1143 to determine the MaxLength values. For UDTs, Max Length is the maximum length of the external type associated with the UDT formatted as -(10)9. You can use the StatementInfo parcel to return the description of items within the Data Field of the corresponding indicator mode Record parcels. For example, the FastLoad .TABLE command can be executed in Indicator Mode to get the additional information of data type and length of all table attributes. That information can then be used to fetch the data correctly in any release of Vantage. |
| Decimal Total Digits | SMALLINT Formatted as -(5)9 |
Yes | If type is DECIMAL. For INTERVAL types, returns a value from 1–4 representing the number of digits in the leading field of the interval (number of non-fractional digits for INTERVAL SECOND). This column is null for TIME and TIMESTAMP data types. |
| Decimal Fractional Digits | SMALLINT Formatted as -(5)9 |
Yes | If type is DECIMAL. For TIME and TIMESTAMP types and all INTERVAL types with a SECOND field, this column returns a value of 0–6, indicating the fractional precision of seconds. For INTERVAL types without a SECOND field, the column returns null. |
| Range Low | FLOAT | Yes | Always null. BETWEEN clause is included in column constraint. |
| Range High | FLOAT | Yes | Always null. BETWEEN clause is included in column constraint. |
| Uppercase | CHARACTER | Yes | Reported if the column data type is
CHARACTER or VARCHAR.
Otherwise null. |
| Table/View? | CHARACTER | No | Object type. The
value reported depends on whether the request is HELP HASH
INDEX, HELP JOIN INDEX, or HELP TABLE.
|
| Default Value | VARCHAR (255) | Yes | Returns the default value (as text)
for the parameter. The value is null if there is no default value. |
| Character Type | SMALLINT | Yes | Returns a code for the server
character set for the column.
If the data type of the column is not character, returns null. |
| IDCol Type | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Returns a code for the type of
identity column.
|
| UDT Name | VARCHAR(61) | Yes | Returns the unqualified name of the UDT. |
| Temporal Column | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Reports whether a column is
temporal and if it is part of a Temporal Relationship constraint.
For information about temporal columns, see Teradata Vantage™ - ANSI Temporal Table Support, B035-1186 and Teradata Vantage™ - Temporal Table Support, B035-1182. |
| Current ValidTime Unique? | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Reports whether a column is a
UNIQUE Current VALIDTIME column. For information about temporal columns, see Teradata Vantage™ - ANSI Temporal Table Support, B035-1186 and Teradata Vantage™ - Temporal Table Support, B035-1182. |
| Sequenced ValidTime Unique? | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Reports whether a column is a
UNIQUE Sequenced VALIDTIME column. For information about temporal columns, see Teradata Vantage™ - ANSI Temporal Table Support, B035-1186 and Teradata Vantage™ - Temporal Table Support, B035-1182. |
| NonSequenced ValidTime Unique? | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Reports whether a column is a
UNIQUE Nonsequenced VALIDTIME column. For information about temporal columns, see Teradata Vantage™ - ANSI Temporal Table Support, B035-1186 and Teradata Vantage™ - Temporal Table Support, B035-1182. |
| Current TransactionTime Unique? | CHARACTER(2) | Yes | Reports whether a column is a
UNIQUE Current TRANSACTIONTIME column. For information about temporal columns, see Teradata Vantage™ - ANSI Temporal Table Support, B035-1186 and Teradata Vantage™ - Temporal Table Support, B035-1182. |
| Column Dictionary Name | VARCHAR(128) | No | The attributes shown
in this section are based upon and supersede the corresponding older
attributes, Column Name, Title, and UDT Name, while providing
additional functionality. The older attributes are retained for compatibility with existing applications. The system returns this set of attributes for each column in the HELP TABLE. For details, see the topics beginning with Object Name and Title Data in HELP Reports. |
| Column SQL Name | VARCHAR(644) | No | |
| Column Name UEscape | VARCHAR(1) | Yes | |
| Dictionary Title | VARCHAR(256) | No | |
| SQL Title | VARCHAR(1284) | No | |
| Title UEscape | VARCHAR(1) | Yes | |
| UDT Dictionary Name | VARCHAR(128) | Yes | |
| UDT SQL Name | VARCHAR(644) | Yes | |
| UDT Name UEscape | VARCHAR(1) | Yes |