
		 This is the datatype of a field in the data.  A datatype describes the kind of information in the field -- not what it means (this is a phone number) but what it is (this is a money amount, as opposed to a string).  

Some common datatypes in Sybase are:

char (string, or Character data), 

varchar (strings of variable length), 

int and smallint (integers), 

float, money and smallmoney (these are floating-point numbers, meaning that they can have a decimal component like dollars and cents), and 

datetime and smalldatetime (these are dates or time stamps).

Knowing what kind of datatype you are trying to match or change helps you to enter appropriate information.   

EXAMPLE: If the number you want to change is an int, it will not help you to enter the value 4.56.  4.56 is not an integer.
	
