apache / apache/hop

[Feature Request]: Allow users to define default data types

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#2,756 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
awaiting triage Hop Gui P3
Dominant language
Java
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Description

### What would you like to happen?

The "Insert / Update" transform automatically generates SQL code to create a target table in case it does not exist.
For strings, it uses the data type "varchar" as default.
In my case, I always use "nvarchar". Currently, the only way to achieve this is by performing a text replacement in an external editor.

I think it would be great if there were a setting that would allow users to define the default type.

Maybe a simple solution could be a mapping table like this

DefaultType ReplaceWith
varchar nvarchar

The fields should probably be pulldowns that simply list all available data types, i.e. all those that are being used by Hop.
I know this could lead to nonsensical selections (like replace varchar with boolean), but I would argue that this is the user's respsonsibility.

This is [in relation to this conversation on Mattermost.](https://chat.project-hop.org/hop/pl/q7nd6pf9yfgcdpypbc3ypbwowc)

### Issue Priority

Priority: 3

### Issue Component

Component: Hop Gui

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the Hop Gui implementation of the Insert / Update transform and trace where it generates SQL for a missing target table. Check how transform settings are represented and how available data types are exposed. Done means users can configure a default-type mapping such as varchar to nvarchar and generated table SQL applies it.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java, sql
Domain
data, frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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