A nickname is an identifier that an application uses to reference a data source object, such as a table or view. In a federated system, you use can nicknames to access data source objects and improve the performance of queries on remote data sources. Nicknames are supported for DB2 for Common Server v9.7 and higher.
You can create a nickname in any of the following ways:
Right-click the model node in the Browser and select New Nickname for External Table. In the dialog, select a table from a PDM open in the workspace and click OK. PowerDesigner will create a shortcut to the external table along with the necessary nickname and server objects.
Select to access the List of Nicknames, and click the Add a Row tool.
You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open a nickname property sheet, double-click its Browser entry in the Nicknames folder.
The following extended attributes are available on the General tab:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
|
Server |
Specifies the server that contains the table the nickname is refering to (see Servers (DB2)). Use the tools to the right of the list to create, browse for, or view the properties of the currently selected server. Scripting name: Server |
|
Remote schema |
Specifies the schema to which the table or view belongs. If left empty, the server authorization name is used. Scripting name: RemoteSchema |
|
Remote table |
Specifies the remote table name. Scripting name: RemoteTable |
|
Relational definition |
Selecting Yes displays the Relational Definition tab, which contains a field to allow you to specify an appropriate definition in SQL. Scripting name: RemoteTable |
The following extended attributes are available on the Options tab:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Code page |
Specifies the code page of the file at the data source. This option is valid only for federated databases that use Unicode. Scripting name: CODEPAGE |
| Column delimiter |
Specifies a single character to use as the delimiter that separates columns in the table-structured file. Scripting name: COLUMN_DELIMITER |
| Data source |
Specifies the name of the script to invoke. Scripting name: DATASOURCE |
| File path |
Specifies the fully qualified directory path and file name of the Excel spreadsheet to access. Scripting name: FILE_PATH |
| Key column |
Specifies the name of the column on which the file is sorted. Scripting name: KEY_COLUMN |
| Namespaces |
Specifies the namespaces that are associated with the namespace prefixes that are used in the XPATH and TEMPLATE options for each column. Scripting name: NAMESPACES |
| No empty string |
Specifies whether the remote data source server can contain empty strings. Scripting name: NO_EMPTY_STRING |
| Numeric string |
Specifies how to treat numeric strings. When set to Y for a column, the query optimizer recognizes that the column contains no blanks that could interfere with the sorting of the data in the column. Scripting name: NUMERIC_STRING |
| Range |
Specifies the range of Excel cells to use. Scripting name: RANGE |
| Remote object |
Specifies the name of the BioRS databank that is associated with the nickname. This name determines the schema and the BioRS databank for the nickname. Scripting name: REMOTE_OBJECT |
| SOAP action |
Specifies the URI SOAPACTION attribute from the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) format. Scripting name: SOAPACTION |
| Sorted |
Specifies whether the file at the data source is or is not sorted in ascending order. Scripting name: SORTED |
| Streaming |
Specifies whether the source document should be separated into logical fragments for processing. Scripting name: STREAMING |
| Template |
Specifies the nickname template fragment to use to construct a SOAP request. Scripting name: TEMPLATE |
| Timeout |
Specifies the maximum time, in minutes, to wait for a response from the data source server. Scripting name: TIMEOUT |
| Validate |
Specifies whether the source document is validated to ensure that it conforms to an XML schema or document type definition (DTD) before data is extracted from it. Scripting name: VALIDATE |
| Validate data file |
For sorted files, this option specifies whether the wrapper verifies that the key column is sorted in ascending order and checks for null keys. Scripting name: VALIDATE_DATA_FILE |
| XPath |
Specifies the XPath expression that identifies the XML elements that represent individual tuples. Scripting name: XPATH |
| XML root |
Specifies the XML root element to add to the values of an XML column that references an XML sequence. Scripting name: XML_ROOT |
| Additional options |
Can be used to specify any additional options. Scripting name: OtherOptions |