Changing data item definition

E Obsolete Database Utilities

Changing data item definition

ALTER ITEM Ident {
[NAME = Ident;]
[TYPE = [count] type [(fmt)]; ]
[TYPE = (fmt); ]
}

Ident is the item name, count is the optional subitem count, type is the item type, format is an optional format number.

The subitem count cannot be changed, if the data item is used as a search item or is included in an index item. The length of a string item cannot be reduced if it is used as a search item.

Changing the item type does will convert all values to the new item type.

Multiple item attributes must be enclosed in curly braces.

For example:

   ALTER ITEM Phone-No
      TYPE  = X12;

This does change the type of the item Phone-No to an eight character string.

  ALTER ITEM Phone-No {
    NAME = Phone;
    TYPE = 2 X20;
  }

This does change the item name from Phone-No to Phone, the subitem count to two and the item type to a twenty character string.

Eloquence Database Manual - 19 DEC 2002