General Tab

The General tab displays information about the DBMS, including identifier case, character set values, delimiters, and separators.

db alias editor general tab, explained below

DBMS Type and Version

The type and version of the database management system for the DB Alias. For example:

Identifier Case

The default case for alphabetic characters used to identify database objects (for example, names of tables or views):

Mixed Case
Accepts and references object identifiers exactly as entered (case-sensitive). For example, TableName, tablename, and TABLENAME are stored and must be referenced exactly as entered.
Upper Case
Translates object identifier entries or references to uppercase. For example, TableName or tablename translates to TABLENAME.
Lower Case
Translates object identifier entries or references to lowercase. For example, TableName or TABLENAME translates to tablename.
Preserve Case
Accepts object identifiers exactly as entered, but references objects without regard to case. For example, TableName, tablename, and TABLENAME are stored as entered, but are referenced in any case.
Note: This option is available only for database management systems that allow you to specify object identifier case (for example, Sybase ASE and SQL Server). If the database management system provides the case identifier option and you do not specify case, Optim uses mixed case.

Code Page

The character set that a DBMS interface uses to communicate with a client. Optim uses the Windows 95 or Windows NT code page to display or write data to a file. The DBMS interface uses a code page to pass data to Optim. In turn, Optim uses a code page to pass, insert, or update data through the DBMS interface.

In most cases, Optim identifies the code page and data received through the DBMS interface. As a result, any code page specified for the DB Alias is ignored. However, in some instances, the code page is not recognized (e.g., ODBC) and the DB Alias code page is used.

To enter the DB Alias code page, click the arrow to select from a list of valid character set values. Supported code pages are:

Code Page Character Set
437 U.S. English
850 International Multilingual
860 Portuguese
863 Canadian, French
865 Nordic
1250 Eastern European
1251 Cyrillic
1252 U.S./Western European ANSI or Latin 1 (ISO 8859-1)
1253 Greek
1254 Turkish
1255 Hebrew
1256 Arabic
1257 Baltic Rim
blank Windows 95 or Windows NT

Optim expects to use the following, depending on the DBMS:

DBMS Code Page
DB2 DB2CODEPAGE environment variable. If not found, the Windows code page is used.
Oracle Oracle Character Set Name (as defined in the Oracle Windows Registry entries). If not found, the DB Alias code page is used.
Sybase ASE Sybase Locale Character Set Name (as defined to the Sybase ASE client). If not found, the DB Alias code page is used.
SQL Server Windows code page.
Informix Windows code page.

String Delimiter

The delimiter used to enclose strings that contain special characters or blanks, either single quotes (‘ _ ‘) or double quotes (“ _ ”).

Note: This option is available only for DB2 Common Server and DB2 MVS.

Decimal Separator

The separator character needed to designate the decimal point in numeric strings. Select the character that is appropriate for the DBMS:

Separator Example
Comma ( , ) 1,50
Period ( . ) 1.50
Space ( _ ) 1_50
Note: If you do not specify a separator, a period is used. For Oracle, the value specified in the DBMS parameters is used.

Optim Directory DB with a Shared Connection

Select this option if the Optim™ Directory resides in the database indicated by the DB Alias. The Optim Directory, created when Optim is installed, holds internal system tables and any objects you create using Optim. Several databases can use the same Optim Directory. Access Definitions and other objects stored in the Directory can be shared.

Note: The Optim Directory can reside in only one database.

Always Require a Password

Indicates whether Optim is configured to require a password for the DB Alias. You can change this setting using the Configuration program. For details, see the Installation and Configuration Guide .

Data is Kept in Unicode Format

Indicates whether DB Alias data is kept in Unicode format. Data is Kept in Unicode Format is displayed only if you are connected to an Optim Directory in a DBMS for which Unicode is supported. You can change this setting using the Configuration program.

Data is Kept in Multi-byte Format

Indicates whether DB Alias data is kept in multi-byte format. Data is Kept in Multi-byte Format is displayed only if you are connected to an Optim Directory in a DBMS for which multi-byte is supported. You can change this setting using the Configuration program.