SQL VARA Objects

SQL VARA objects retrieve values from external databases using SQL statements.

Prerequisites

The following is assigned to the VARA object:

Overview

An SQL VARA object definition is made up of the following pages:

  • General Page

    Common to all object types, here you define basic object information and apply custom values to it

  • Variables

    Here you define the object-specific settings. Some sections on this page are common to all VARA objects and are described for all of them in dedicated topics:

  • Version Management Page

    Common to all object types, here you find a list of all versions of the object

  • Documentation Page

    Common to all object types, here you enter information that you consider important to understand the configuration and behavior of the object

Notes:

  • There is no limit to the lengths of values. If a maximum text limit has been selected in the Attributes Page, this only applies to the first value column. Items exceeding this limit will be excluded.

  • The maximum number of lines that is returned is specified in the SQLVAR_MAX_ROWS setting (UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS - Systemwide Settings.

  • To change the maximum time taken for resolving SQL variables, use VAR_TIMEOUT (UC_HOSTCHAR_DEFAULT - Host Characteristics*).

  • Non-printable characters are deleted automatically (ASCII characters 0x00 to 0x20 and 0x7F).

  • Trailing space characters are not truncated from the end SQL variable values.

  • This type of VARA object does not support binary fields. Binary data that result from an SQL query causes an error in the preview or when the values are retrieved at runtime.

  • For technical reasons, the system does not check the SQL statements that are processed with database VARA objects (SEC_SQLI, SEC_SQL, SQLI, and SQL types). This means that you can change or delete data records by using VARA objects. For security reasons, consider restricting user access accordingly. If possible, deploy a database user with read-only rights for VARA objects that can access an external database (SQL, SQL SECURE). For internal SQL variables (SQLI, SQLI SECURE), you can limit object access via a privilege (create and modify SQL-internal variables).

  • Depending on the data type, this VARA object returns "" (string, date, time, timestamp) or 0 (number) for NULL values.

  • Use PromptSet variables here when you use the Dynamic Reload feature for combo box prompts. The PromptSet variables are resolved when the object that includes the PromptSet is executed.

To Define an SQL VARA Object

  1. In the Variable Settings section specify the following:

    • Type

      Read-only, always SQL

    • Connection

      Connection object of type Database that contains the connection parameters for the selected database

    • Login

      Login object that stores the name and password of the database user. If you neither specify a Login object nor set the option Default login, the login data for accessing the database is retrieved from the Connection object.

    • Default Login

      Default Login object that is assigned to your user definition. If your user definition has no Login object assigned, an error occurs. If you select this option, the Login object that is specified in the VARA object is ignored.

      PromptSet variables cannot be used here.

    • SQL Statement

      SQL statements used to select specific database entries that serve as variable values. Variables that are directly specified in SQL are replaced.

      To include variables, use bind parameters.

      Maximum length: 4096 characters

    You can include PromptSet variables here when using the dynamic reload feature for combo box prompts. When you use PromptSet variables in a dynamic VARA object, the Preview feature returns an error. This is because the PromptSet variables do not exist in the dynamic VARA object. However, the PromptSet variables will be resolved when objects including the PromptSet are executed.

  2. Define the Data Types and Formatting.

  3. Define the Script Access.

  4. To run a command, select it and click Preview. The statements are executed and their results displayed. The preview function serves to check for potential errors in the database statements (for example, it the data type of the VARA object and of the database do not match).

    The database Agent sends the preview data to the Automation Engine in the form of a message. If this message exceeds the maximum message length that a server process accepts, an error occurs.

    Maximum length: Set in the MaxMsgSize= parameter of the Automation Engine UCSRV.INI file.

    Default value: 3145 728 bytes. You can limit the result either by using a maximum number of lines or through SQL statements.

  5. To export the content of the preview table to a CSV file, click Export Table. All rows and column are exported. Use this function if you need to further process the content of the CSV file (paste it to a different application for further processing and so on).

  6. To copy one or more rows in the Preview table, select the Copy button. The selected rows are copied to the clipboard and you can paste them to a third party tool (Google, Sheets, Excel, text editor, and so on).

    Note: This function is available only if https is used on the Automic Web Interface .

  7. Save your changes.

See also: