Skip Headers

Oracle TopLink Developer's Guide 10g Release 3 (10.1.3) B13593-01 |
| Home | Solution Area | Contents | Index

Previous | Next |

# Creating Custom Data Types

TopLink provides support for all the most common Java data types. Table 12-1 lists the TopLink mapping extensions that you can use to support custom data types. You can also create your object converter to allow conversion between a data type and your own Java type.

Table 12-1 Mapping Extensions for Custom Data Types

Extension | Description
--- | ---
"Object Type Converter" | An extension of direct and direct collection mappings that lets you match a fixed number of data values to Java objects. Use this converter when the values in the schema differ from those in Java
"Serialized Object Converter" | An extension of direct and direct collection mappings that lets you map serializable objects, such as multimedia data, to a binary format in a data source, such as a base64 element in an XML document or Binary Large Object (BLOB) field in a database
"Type Conversion Converter" | An extension of direct and direct collection mappings that lets you explicitly map a data source type to a Java type. For example, a `java.util.Date` in Java can be mapped to a `java.sql.Date` in the data source.
"Simple Type Translator" | An extension of direct and direct collection mappings that lets you automatically translate an XML element value to an appropriate Java type based on the element's `<type>` attribute as defined in your XML schema.