Supported Connector Characteristics - List of Terms

Writeback support

Indicates whether the connection supports writeback result sets.

The term writeback is defined in RDBMS systems as an updateable cursor, which means that, using the result set, the most recently fetched record can be directly updated or deleted. A non-writeback update must first search the table using keys, however a writeback update can immediately locate the record to update. Writeback support saves time and is therefore more efficient.

Writeback index

Indicates the database index, if any, required to enable writeback support for a given metadata object. For example, some connectors require that a unique index exist, while others do not.

Statement syntax

Refers to the statement type and format that this connector accepts.

Condition syntax

Refers to the type and format of the condition statements that this connector accepts.

Array transfer

Refers to the capability of this connector to transfer many records at once. The benefit of transferring many records at once is that only one network transaction is needed, rather than many, for a given set of records -- the data has the same number of bytes, but the transfer takes less time. Array transfers can be used for read or write operations, depending on the RDBMS and the connector.

Actions supported

Refers to the Actions that this connector is capable of supporting.

Catalog types

Refers to the Catalog types that this connector supports for browsing-type operations.

Create types

Refers to the Object types that this connector can create in the external system.

Drop types

Refers to the Object types that this connector can drop from the external system.