Case Handling in Flex2SQL

With previous driver versions, Flex2SQL allowed object names to be either all upper case or all lower case. The field names followed the convention selected for the table name. Now users are able to determine how the driver handles table and field names.

• Convert to upper case

• Convert to lower case

• Keep all cases as stored in Dataflex

NOTE: The default is to keep the existing case. The default in earlier versions was to convert to uppercase.

The casing impacts all table, field, and index names.

Migration tool

The table casing during migration can be set in the Flex2SQL migration tool in the Tools -> Preferences menu item.

Runtime

If you use your own code to create or restructure tables, the new table casing also is in effect there.

The global file casing can be set through mertech.ini (default is to keep the case): 

TableCasing = KeepCase / Uppercase / Lowercase

SET_DEFAULT_FILE_CASING TO FILE_CASING_UPPER / FILE_CASING_LOWER / FILE_CASING_KEEP
GET_DEFAULT_FILE_CASING TO variable 

Additionally, a new file attribute DF_FILE_CASING has been created.

Mertech does recommend only using one casing for the entire database to avoid some tables receiving one case and other tables receiving others.

The file casing works transparently through the driver, and for normal operations (outside of restructuring) the programmer does not have to take casing into consideration (and it does not have to be set).

The main area of focus is when using a database that has fully or partial case sensitive identifiers. As an example Oracle assumes everything is upper case, so identifiers have to be quoted if they are lower cased.

If you are using a database that has case sensitive identifiers, you need to consider your use of embedded SQL, to either make sure any queries you have created take the new casing into account, or when migration or creating and restructuring tables, set the table case to the case your old migrated tables have.