INF: Use User-Defined Data Type to Extract Current Time

ID Number: Q67410

1.10 1.11 4.20

OS/2

Summary:

You can create a user-defined data type that extracts the current

time. The advantage of using user-defined data types is that you can

bind rules and defaults to them for use in several different tables.

The following is an example of creating a data type with the

functionality of extracting the current time by first creating a

default, and then binding it to the user data type:

/* First, create the user type "time". Please note that it is defined

as not null. */

sp_addtype time, "char(8)", "not null"

go

/* Next, create the default "timedft". This default uses the string

function "right" to convert it to type char. */

create default timedft

as right (getdate(),8)

go

/* Now, bind the result to the user data type. */

sp_binddefault timedft, time

/* Create the table with this user data type. */

create table test

(curtime time,

test int)

/* Since the data type was created as not null, any time a value is not

supplied for the curtime column, the current time will be input into

the column. */

insert test (test)

values (1)

go

select * from test

go

Curtime test

------- --------------

4:24 PM 1

Additional reference words: 1.10 1.11 4.20 Transact-SQL