Providing Descriptive Information for a Data Source: REMARKS

How to:

The optional REMARKS attribute provides descriptive information about the data source. This descriptive information appears in graphical tools.

You can also include descriptive information as a comment following a $ symbol in the Master File. For more information, see Understanding a Data Source Description. These descriptions, however, are useful only for those who view the Master File source code. They do not appear in graphical tools.

Master Files support REMARKS and DESCRIPTION attributes in multiple languages. For information, see Using Multilingual Descriptions in a Master File.

Syntax: How to Document a Data Source

REMARKS = 'descriptive_text'

where:

descriptive_text

Is descriptive information about the data source. The text can be a maximum of 2K characters long and must be enclosed within single quotation marks.

The descriptive text cannot span more than one line in the Master File. If necessary, place the entire REMARKS attribute on a line by itself. For longer descriptions, break the declaration into lines with the descriptive text on a line by itself.

Example: Providing Descriptive Information for an Oracle Table

The following example shows the data source declaration for the Oracle table ORDERS. The data source declaration includes descriptive information about the table.

FILENAME=ORDERS, SUFFIX=SQLORA,
REMARKS='This Oracle table tracks daily, weekly, and monthly orders.' ,$

Since the descriptive information would not fit on the same line as the other data source attributes, the REMARKS attribute appears on a line by itself.