Informix data types supported in ArcGIS

When you create a table or add a column to a table in the database, columns are created as a specific data type. Data types are classifications that identify possible values for and operations that can be done on the data, as well as the way the data in that column is stored in the database.

When you access database tables from ArcGIS, you can work with specific data types. When accessing the database table through the Database Connections node in the Catalog tree or through a query layer in ArcMap, ArcGIS filters out any unsupported data types. If you access your database table directly, unsupported data types won't be displayed in the ArcGIS interface and you cannot edit them through ArcGIS. Similarly, when you copy tables containing unsupported data types with ArcGIS, it will only copy the supported data types; when you paste the table to another database or a geodatabase, the unsupported data type columns will not be present.

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS or add a column to an existing table or feature class using ArcGIS, there are 11 possible data types you can assign to a field. Database data types that don't correspond to these types cannot be used directly in ArcGIS client applications.

The first column lists the data types available in ArcGIS. The second column lists the Informix data type that will be created in the database. The third column shows what other Informix data types (if any) map to the ArcGIS data type when viewed in ArcGIS.

ArcGIS data types

Informix data types created

Other Informix data types that can be viewed

Notes

BLOB

BLOB

DATE

DATETIME

DOUBLE

DECIMAL(31,8)

The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information.

FLOAT

DECIMAL(31,8)

The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information.

GEOMETRY

ST_GEOMETRY

ST_Geometry is a superclass. The actual data subtype created (such as ST_Multilinestring or ST_Point) depends on what type of feature class you create, whether polygon, line, point, multipoint, or multipatch.

GUID

CHAR(UUID LEN)

LONG INTEGER

INTEGER

OBJECTID

CHARACTER(38) when created in an enterprise geodatabase

SERIAL when created in a database

The ArcGIS type ObjectID is the registered row ID column for the table (or feature class.) Only one may exist per table. For tables created outside ArcGIS, columns are interpreted as ObjectID only after being registered with the geodatabase.

RASTER

BLOB

Only supported in enterprise geodatabases

SHORT INTEGER

SMALLINT

TEXT

VARCHAR

CHAR

Informix data types supported in ArcGIS
8/25/2014