Support for Transact-SQL special timestamp columns

When you work with a SQL Anywhere table in the DataWindow or Database painter, the default behavior is to treat any column named timestamp as a SQL Anywhere Transact-SQL special timestamp column.

Creating special timestamp columns

You can create a Transact-SQL special timestamp column in a SQL Anywhere table.

To create a Transact-SQL special timestamp column in a SQL Anywhere table in DataWindow Designer:

Give the name timestamp to any column having a timestamp datatype that you want treated as a Transact-SQL special timestamp column. Do this in one of the following ways:
- In the painter – Select timestamp as the column name. (For instructions, see the User’s Guide.)
- In a SQL CREATE TABLE statement – Follow the “CREATE TABLE example”.
Specify timestamp as the default value for the column. Do this in one of the following ways:
- In the painter – Select timestamp as the default value for the column. (For instructions, see the User’s Guide.)
- In a SQL CREATE TABLE statement – Follow the “CREATE TABLE example”.
If you are working with the table in the Data Pipeline painter, select the initial value exclude for the special timestamp column from the drop-down list in the Initial Value column of the workspace.

You must select exclude as the initial value to exclude the special timestamp column from INSERT or UPDATE statements.

For instructions, see the User’s Guide.

CREATE TABLE example

The following CREATE TABLE statement defines a SQL Anywhere table named timesheet containing three columns: employee_ID (integer datatype), hours (decimal datatype), and timestamp (timestamp datatype and timestamp default value):

CREATE TABLE timesheet (

   employee_ID INTEGER,

   hours DECIMAL,

   timestamp TIMESTAMP default timestamp )

Not using special timestamp columns

If you want to change the default behavior, you can specify that DataWindow Designer not treat SQL Anywhere columns named timestamp as Transact-SQL special timestamp columns.

To specify that DataWindow Designer not treat columns named timestamp as a Transact-SQL special timestamp column:

Edit the Sybase SQL Anywhere section of the PBODB110 initialization file to change the value of SQLSrvrTSName from 'Yes' to 'No'.

After making changes in the initialization file, you must reconnect to the database to have them take effect. See Appendix A, “Adding Functions to the PBODB110 Initialization File.”