For columns of type VARCHAR, CHAR, LONG VARCHAR, or LONG CHAR, removes trailing blanks from strings during synchronization.

Syntax

mlsrv11 -c "connection-string" -b ...

Remarks

This option helps resolve differences between the SQL Anywhere CHAR data type and the CHAR or VARCHAR data type used by the consolidated database. The SQL Anywhere CHAR data type is equivalent to VARCHAR. However, in most consolidated databases that are not SQL Anywhere, the CHAR(n) data type is blank-padded to n characters.

When -b is specified, the MobiLink server removes trailing blanks from strings for columns of type CHAR, VARCHAR, LONG CHAR, or LONG VARCHAR if the column on the remote is a string. It does this before filtering rows that were uploaded in the current synchronization. The trimmed data is then downloaded to the remote databases.

This option can also be used to detect conflict updates. For each upload update row, the MobiLink server fetches the row from the consolidated database for the given primary key, compares the row with the pre-image of the update, and then determines whether the update is a conflict update. When -b is used, MobiLink trims trailing blanks from columns of type CHAR, VARCHAR, LONG CHAR, or LONG VARCHAR before doing the comparison.

See also

• CHAR columns
• NVARCHAR data type

Example

If the -b option is not used, a primary-key value of 'abc' uploaded from a SQL Anywhere or UltraLite remote to a CHAR(10) column in the consolidated database becomes 'abc' followed by seven blank spaces. If the same row is downloaded, then it appears on the remote as 'abc' followed by seven spaces. If the remote database is not blank-padded, then the remote contains two rows: both 'abc' and 'abc' followed by seven spaces. There is now a duplicate row on the remote.

If the -b option is used, a primary-key value of 'abc' uploaded from a SQL Anywhere or UltraLite remote to a CHAR(10) column in the consolidated database becomes 'abc' followed by seven spaces. Seven spaces still pad the value to ten characters, but if the same row is downloaded, then MobiLink server strips the trailing spaces, and the value appears on the remote as 'abc'. The -b option thus fixes the duplicate row problem.