[DERBY-6376] Revise DatabaseMetaData section of Reference Manual

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Minor
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 10.10.1.1
• Fix Version/s: 10.10.2.0, 10.11.1.1
• Component/s: Documentation
• Assignee: Camilla Haase
• Reporter: Camilla Haase
• Created: 08/Oct/13 19:50
• Updated: 16/Apr/14 02:41
• Resolved: 18/Oct/13 14:44

Description

In a comment on DERBY-6369, Knut Anders Hatlen suggests that the topic "Parameters to getProcedureColumns" (http://db.apache.org/derby/docs/10.10/ref/rrefpgc1.html) might be removed. The purpose of the topics under "JDBC Reference" is to provide Derby-specific implementation information. In this topic, however, the Derby-specific information seems to apply to other methods as well: the information on catalogs and the information on name patterns.

It may be that another topic in the same section, "java.sql.DatabaseMetaData.getProcedureColumns method" (http://db.apache.org/derby/docs/10.10/ref/rrefgpc1.html), could also be removed. Derby presumably supports other DatabaseMetaData methods that are not mentioned, such as getFunctionColumns and, more recently, getAttributes (of UDTS) and getUDTs. Why mention this one only?

The topic "Columns in the ResultSet returned by getProcedureColumns" (http://db.apache.org/derby/docs/10.10/ref/rrefcrsrgpc1.html) does contain Derby-specific information, listing a couple of columns that are not listed in the Java SE documentation on this method (see http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/sql/DatabaseMetaData.html). So this topic needs to be retained.

Some information could be added to the top-level "java.sql.DatabaseMetaData interface" topic (http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/sql/DatabaseMetaData.html) about needing to specify null for catalog columns and perhaps about using the "%" wildcard to obtain a list of all items in a particular namePattern field.

Let me know if these changes don't make sense.