Object retention settings

Every object, including objects assigned to retention classes, has a specific retention setting that specifies when (or whether) the retention period for the object ends. HCP represents the retention setting in numeric and text formats, as shown in the following table.

Numeric valueText valueMeaning
0Deletion AllowedThe object can be deleted at any time.
-1Deletion ProhibitedThe object cannot be deleted, except by a privileged delete, and the retention setting cannot be changed.
-2Initial UnspecifiedThe object does not yet have a retention setting. An object that has this value cannot be deleted, except by a privileged delete. You can change this retention setting to any other setting.
An integer number of seconds since January 1, 1970, at 00:00:00 UTCA datetime valueThe object cannot be deleted, except by a privileged delete, until the specified date and time.

The format used for retention settings depends on whether you are specifying or retrieving a setting and on the protocol you are using.