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A database expert gave me some good information to explain the difference between Persistent and Nonpersistent attributes in Maximo that I would like to pass on to other Maximo users.

Persistent and nonpersistent attributes are easiest to think of in this way - the Maximo data dictionary tables contain the

definitions for Java objects, not database objects.  If an attribute's value should be saved in a database table, then it is        
flagged as persistent=1 and configure creates a column of that name in   
the table so that the value in the Java attribute can be saved so that it "persists". 

If persistent = 0, then the attribute only exists when the Java object is instantiated in the JVM's memory.                     
                                                                         
Nonpersistent attributes are runtime working data, or sometimes data     
from a different object which is closely associated with this object and
brought in at runtime for screen display.  DESCRIPTION_LONGDESCRIPTION   
for example holds the long description text (if any) which is fetched    
from that table when the main object is instantiated (or for a new item  
being entered, the long description value which will eventually be saved in the
longdescription table, if one is entered).  Nonpersistent attributes can also be used as a processing flag
to determine what actions are to be performed.