Using the LABEL ON statement

 

Normally, the column name is used as the column heading when the output of a SELECT statement is shown in interactive SQL. By using the LABEL ON statement, you can create a more descriptive label for the column name. Because you run your examples in interactive SQL, you use the LABEL ON statement to change the column headings. Even though the column name is descriptive, it is easier to read if the column heading shows each part of the name on a single line. It also allows you to see more columns of data on a single display.

To change the labels for your columns, follow these steps:

1. Enter LABEL ON COLUMN on the Enter SQL Statements display.

2. Press F4 (Prompt). The following display appears.

                             Specify LABEL ON Statement  
   Type choices, press Enter.
    
     Label on . . . .   2                          1=Table or view                                                 2=Column                                                 3=Package                                                 4=Alias  
     Table or view      INVENTORY_LIST______       Name, F4 for list     Collection . .     SAMPLECOLL__             Name, F4 for list  
     Option . . . . .   1                          1=Column heading                                                 2=Text  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   F3=Exit   F4=Prompt   F5=Refresh   F12=Cancel   F20=Display full names F21=Display statement

3. Type the name of the table and schema that contains the columns for which you want to add labels.

4. Press Enter. The following display is shown, prompting you for each of the columns in the table.

                             Specify LABEL ON Statement  
   Type information, press Enter.
    
                          Column Heading Column                 ....+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....
   ITEM_NUMBER           'ITEM                NUMBER'___________________________
   ITEM_NAME             'ITEM                NAME'_____________________________
   UNIT_COST             'UNIT                COST'_____________________________
   QUANTITY_ON_HAND      'QUANTITY            ON                  HAND'_________
   LAST_ORDER_DATE       'LAST                ORDER               DATE'_________
   ORDER_QUANTITY        'NUMBER              ORDERED'__________________________
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
                                                                           Bottom F3=Exit           F5=Refresh   F6=Insert line   F10=Copy line   F12=Cancel F14=Delete line   F19=Display system column names   F24=More keys  
    

5. Type the column heading for each of the columns. Column headings are defined in 20-character sections. Each section is displayed on a different line when the output of a SELECT statement is shown. The ruler across the top of the column heading entry area can be used to easily space the headings correctly.

6. Press Enter.

The following message indicates that the LABEL ON statement was successful:

LABEL ON for INVEN00001 in SAMPLECOLL completed.

The table name in the message is the system table name for this table, not the name that was actually specified in the statement. DB2^® UDB for iSeries™ maintains two names for tables with names longer than 10 characters.

The LABEL ON statement can also be typed directly on the Enter SQL Statements display as follows:

LABEL ON SAMPLECOLL.INVENTORY_LIST (ITEM_NUMBER       IS ’ITEM 						NUMBER ’,
ITEM_NAME          IS ’ITEM 						NAME ’,
UNIT_COST          IS ’UNIT 						COST ’,
QUANTITY_ON_HAND   IS ’QUANTITY 				ON 						HAND ’,
LAST_ORDER_DATE    IS ’LAST 						ORDER 					DATE ’,
ORDER_QUANTITY     IS ’NUMBER 					ORDERED ’)

 

Parent topic:

Getting started with SQL

 

Related reference

CREATE TABLE