Use the attributes properties tab to specify the characteristics of the data in a table column. You can open attribute properties from:
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Basic Settings
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| Name | Enter the name of the attribute.
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| Type | Select the attribute type for the data.
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Length | This field is available when Type is String. By default strings are 50 characters long. Optionally specify a different string length of between 1 and 4000. For strings longer than 4000 characters, set a Type of Bigstring. | |||||||||||||||||
| Precision | This field is available when Type is Integer. Enter the maximum number of digits allowed in whole numbers. By default, integers are 10 digits long. Optionally specify a different integer precision of between 1 digit and 38 digits. | |||||||||||||||||
| Significant Figures | This field is available when Type is Decimal. Enter the maximum number of total digits for decimal numbers. By default decimals have 10 significant figures. |
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| Decimal Places | This field is available when Type is Decimal. Enter the maximum number of digits allowed after the decimal point. By default, decimals have 2 decimal places. This must be less than the number of significant figures. | |||||||||||||||||
| Local |
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| Order | The order of the attributes in the stream. Stream attribute expressions are evaluated in this order. This is important when you need to use the results of a calculation in another attribute:
In the attribute list, the attribute that calculates the result must come before the attribute that requires the result. | |||||||||||||||||
| Expression | The expression used to generate the attribute value. This is written as a PhixFlow Expression. It must evaluate to a single value, of the type specified in the Type field. | |||||||||||||||||
Advanced
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| Indexed |
To improve performance, index an attribute when the stream has a large data set and an output pipe from the stream uses this attribute to:
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| Filter conditions are case-independent by default |
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| Key |
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Translate Values
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| Cache Key | Enter an expression to be evaluated for each stream item (data record) in the stream. The expression can:
Once calculated, the cache key value persists throughout subsequent stream calculation, rather than being created from scratch for each stream item as normal. This allows you to keep track of the calculation as it progresses. This means you can use a "persistent" attribute value in other expressions. |
Access Permissions
For details about how to control access to a stream attribute, see Common Properties → Access Permissions.
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All stream attributes have a data type. When loading data from a source, such as a file or database, PhixFlow applies the data type from the source. If there is no data type specified, PhixFlow applies the default type of string.
You can change the type of a stream attribute before the data has been loaded into the stream.
Once the stream contains data, you may be able to change the data type, depending on the database on which PhixFlow runs. PhixFlow reports an error if you are not permitted to change the data type. In this case you can rollback all stream sets so that the stream no longer contains data; see Rollback.
String
Apply a string type to sequences of characters, such as letters, numerals, symbols and punctuation marks. By default string attribute types have a default length of 50. Specify a different string length in Basic Settings → Length.
Anchor Bigstring Bigstring
Bigstring
| Bigstring | |
| Bigstring |
Apply a bigstring type to text strings over 4000 characters long. Bigstring is a different data type to string. For PhixFlow instances that use an Oracle database, bigstrings:
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The PhixFlow administrator can configure the length of a bigstring using System Configuration → System Tuning → Maximum Bigstring Size.
Integer
Apply an integer type to whole numbers (not a fractions or decimals) that can be positive, negative, or zero. By default integers have a precision of 10 digits. Specify a different integer length in the Basic Settings → Precision.
If you store a number with decimal places as an integer it will be truncated.
Float
Apply a float type to non-integer numbers with an undefined level of precision.
Anchor Decimal Decimal
Decimal
| Decimal | |
| Decimal |
Apply a decimal type to non-integer numbers with a set level of precision. Decimals have a specific number of:
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The PhixFlow administrator can configure the default number of decimal places is set in System Configuration → General Settings → Decimal places.
Date
Apply a date type to representations of a calendar day. Word formats, such as Tuesday the fourteenth of February are not recognised. However, three letter month abbreviations are recognised, for example: 14 Feb 2019.
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If the System Configuration or Number Format option to Suppress Trailing Zeroes is set, PhixFlow will display decimals and floating point numbers without trailing zeroes.
Recognised Date Formats
- the international standard format has not separators and is yyyyMMdd, for example 20190214.
- the following variations (examples shown with space separators).
| 14 02 2019 | 14 Feb 2019 | 02 14 2019 | Feb 14 2019 |
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| dd/MM/yyyy | dd-MMM-yyyy | MM/dd/yyyy | MMM/dd/yyyy |
| dd-MM-yyyy | dd/MMM/yyyy | MM-dd-yyyy | MMM-dd-yyyy |
| dd MM yyyy | dd MMM yyyy | MM dd yyyy | MMM dd yyyy |
| MM d yyyy | MMM d yyyy | ||
| 14 02 19 | 14 Feb 19 | 02 14 19 | Feb 14 19 |
| dd/MM/yy | dd/MMM/yy | MM/dd/yy | MMM/dd/yy |
| dd MM yy | dd-MMM-yy | MM-dd-yy | MMM-dd-yy |
| dd-MM-yy | dd MMM yy | MM dd yy | MMM dd yy |
| MM d yy | MMM d yy |
Datetime
Apply a datetime type to representations of a day and a time. It cannot be used to represent a time alone.
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The default number of date format is set in System Configuration → General Settings → Default Date/Time Format.
Graphic
Apply a graphic type to fields that contain image files.
True or False Values
Apply the Basic Settings → Type of TrueFalse to fields that can have the values that represent true or false.
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