Using the INTO sqlda Pointer Clause

Use the INTO sqlda_pointer clause to allocate memory for an sqlda structure and store its address in an sqlda pointer. The DESCRIBE statement fills in the allocated memory with descriptive information. Unlike the USING clause, the INTO clause creates new sqlda structures to store the output from DESCRIBE.

The DESCRIBE statement sets the sqlda.sqld field to the number of values in the statement list. The sqlda structure also contains an array of data descriptors (sqlvar structures), one for each value in the statement list. After a DESCRIBE statement is executed, the sqlda.sqlvar structure has the sqltype, sqllen, and sqlname fields set.

In Dynamic Server, if the column has an opaque data type, DESCRIBE...INTO sets the sqlxid, sqltypename, sqltypelen, sqlownerlen, and sqlownername fields of the item descriptor.

The DESCRIBE statement allocates memory for an sqlda pointer once it is declared in a program. The application program, however, must designate the storage area of the sqlda.sqlvar.sqldatafields.