User Guide

Advanced topics in data integration 291
• Validation Options: Validation options are additional settings that affect the validation rules
for this field. The settings are presented in the Validation Options dialog box, which appears
when you select this item. These settings vary according to data type. For example, the String
data type has settings for the minimum and maximum allowed length of the data. The XML
data type has a setting to control if white space is ignored when converting from a String
to XML.
• Required: This is a Boolean value that determines whether this field is required to have a non-
null value. Validation fails if
required=true but no value has been set.
• Read-Only: This is a Boolean value that determines whether this field can receive new values
through data binding. If
readonly=true, then executing any binding to this field generates
the invalid event, and the field changes.
Formatter settings Formatter settings are applied when a field’s value needs to be converted to
a string. This is often for display purposes, such as when a DataSet field is bound to the
text
property of a Label or TextArea component. Formatter settings on a field are ignored when that
field is bound to something whose data type isn’t String.
• Formatter: The name of the formatter to use when converting this field to String. This is
selected from a list of available formatters.
• Formatter options: these additional settings affect the formatter. The settings are presented in
the Formatting Options dialog box, which appears when you select this item. These settings
vary according to formatter. For example, the Boolean formatter has settings for the text that
represents the
true and false values.
Note: If you don't specify a formatter, then a default conversion is applied when a field's value is
needed as a string.
For a complete list of formatters, see “Schema formatters” on page 297.
Kind and Encoder settings The Kind and Encoder settings are used to activate certain special
features:
• Kind: The Kind setting for this field. This is selected from a list of available Kind settings.
• Kind options: Additional settings that affect the Kind setting. The settings are presented in the
Kind Options dialog box, which appears when you select this item. These settings vary
according to kind.
• Encoder: The Encoder setting for this field, which is selected from a list of available
Encoder settings.
• Encoder options: Additional settings that affect the encoder. The settings are presented in the
Encoder Options dialog box, which appears when you select this item. These settings vary
according to encoder.
For more information, see “Using kinds and encoders” on page 292, “Schema kinds”
on page 294, and “Schema encoders” on page 294.