When you create a table or add a column to a table in the database, columns are created as a specific data type. Data types are classifications that identify possible values for and operations that can be done on the data, as well as the way the data in that column is stored in the database.
When you access database tables from ArcGIS, you can work with specific data types. When accessing the database table through the Database Connections node in the Catalog tree or through a query layer in ArcMap, ArcGIS filters out any unsupported data types. If you access your database table directly, unsupported data types won't be displayed in the ArcGIS interface and you cannot edit them through ArcGIS. Similarly, when you copy tables containing unsupported data types with ArcGIS, it will only copy the supported data types; when you paste the table to another database or a geodatabase, the unsupported data type columns will not be present.
When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS or add a column to an existing table or feature class using ArcGIS, there are 12 possible ArcGIS data types that can be assigned to a field. Database data types that don't correspond to these types cannot be used directly in ArcGIS client applications.
The first column lists the ArcGIS data types. The second column lists the DB2 data type that will be created in the database. The third column shows what other DB2 data types (if any) map to the ArcGIS data type when viewed in ArcGIS.
| ArcGIS data types | DB2 data types created | Other DB2 data types that can be viewed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
BLOB |
BLOB | ||
|
DATE | TIMESTAMP | ||
|
DOUBLE | DECIMAL(p,s) | The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information. | |
|
FLOAT |
DECIMAL(p,s) | The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information. | |
|
GEOMETRY |
ST_GEOMETRY | ST_Geometry is a superclass. The actual data subtype created (such as ST_Multilinestring or ST_Point) depends on what type of feature class you create, whether polygon, line, point, multipoint, or multipatch. | |
GLOBAL ID | CHAR(38) | Only supported in geodatabases. | |
|
GUID |
CHAR(UUID LEN) | ||
|
LONG INTEGER |
INTEGER | ||
|
OBJECT ID |
CHARACTER(38) when created in enterprise geodatabases INTEGER with IDENTITY property when created in a database | The ArcGIS type ObjectID is the registered row ID column for the table (or feature class.) Only one may exist per table. | |
|
RASTER | BLOB | Only supported in geodatabases. | |
|
SHORT INTEGER |
SMALLINT | ||
|
TEXT |
VARCHAR | CHAR |