RDB$FORMATS
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RDB$FORMATS keeps track of the format versions of the columns in a table. InterBase assigns the table a new format number at each change to a column definition. Direct metadata operations such as ALTER TABLE increment the format version; so do creating, dropping, activating, and deactivating triggers. This table allows existing application programs to access a changed table, without needing to be recompiled.
- Note: InterBase allows only 255 changes to a metadata of a table. Once the limit is reached, the database must be backed up and restored before more metadata changes can be made. Only changes that affect a structure count of a row toward this limit. Changing a trigger from active to inactive, for example, does not count toward the limit.
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Names a table that exists in | |
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Specifies the format number of the table; a table can have any number of different formats, depending on the number of updates to the table. | |
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Subtype Format: Lists each column in the table, along with its data type, length, and scale (if applicable). |