Using the format parameter of the TO_CHAR and TO_LABEL functions, you can format the classification and categories of each of these components in one of several ways: numeric, short, or long. You can also specify whether you want the numeric, short, or long representation of a label to be displayed in the format used by the operating system on which Trusted Oracle is running, and you can specify whether you want a label displayed in full operating system format. Note that not all operating systems support separate long and short formats.
For example, assume that the system-wide default label format (set in the parameter file) is SEN; this displays the full sensitivity label in short format. However, you want the full sensitivity label to be displayed in numeric format just for your session or a portion of your session. To change the label format for your DBMS session to S, enter
ALTER SESSION SET MLS_LABEL_FORMAT = 's'
All labels will then be displayed in this format for the duration of your session, or until you issue another ALTER SESSION SET MLS_LABEL_FORMAT command.
Note that altering the MLS_LABEL_FORMAT parameter not only changes the format in which labels are displayed for your session; it also changes the format in which you must enter labels. For example, after altering the MLS_LABEL_FORMAT parameter as described in the above example, you must enter labels in numeric format for the rest of your session.
Changing the MLS_LABEL_FORMAT parameter does not affect constraint enforcement.
For more information about different label formats, see your Trusted Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide.