Variable definitions when writing to a .sav file

Developer Documentation Library > Data Model > Available DSCs > SPSS Statistics SAV DSC > Writing to an SPSS Statistics .sav file > Variable definitions when writing to a .sav file

The following table shows how the SPSS Statistics SAV DSC maps UNICOM Intelligence Metadata Model (MDM) variable types to IBM SPSS Statistics variable types when writing a .sav file.

MDM variable type	IBM SPSS Statistics variable type	IBM SPSS Statistics alignment	IBM SPSS Statistics measurement
Single-response categorical	Numeric 1.0	Right	Nominal
Multiple-response categorical	Multiple set of numeric 1.0 variables	Right	Nominal
Long	Numeric n.0, where n (width) is 8 or greater	Right	Scale
Double	Numeric n.2 where n (width) is 8 or greater	Right	Scale
Text	String	Left	Nominal
Date	Date (DATETIME format)	Right	Scale
Boolean	Numeric 1.0	Right	Nominal

Note that you can control an IBM SPSS Statistics variable's alignment by using the Alignment property (see Properties and settings used by the SPSS Statistics SAV DSC), and an IBM SPSS Statistics variable's measurement by using the Measurement property.

The remainder of this topic describes the mapping of variable types in more detail.