The TDS format supports two categories of simple data types: textual and non-textual.
The Physical Type of an element determines whether it is categorized as textual or non-textual.
The following table describes how the length of data is determined for each Physical Type.
Physical Type | Determination of Length |
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The Data Element Separation of the parent complex type or group determines how the length of the data is determined. |
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Uses the value of the Length property of the element. If Physical Type is Time Seconds, the Length property is set to 4. If Physical Type is Time Milliseconds, the Length property is set to 8. In neither case can this value be changed. |
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Uses the encoded length value in the data. |
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Uses the null terminator at the end of the data. |
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Uses the value of the Length Reference or Length property of the element. |