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| Forms | | Field |
FIELD command displays the current value of variables on the
screen and provides extensive capabilities for
editing and validating data values.
A FIELD command without any clauses displays the data at a
default position on the screen using the dictionary definitions to control the
prompt, the data format and the edit rules.
When defining custom screens and additional edits, much of the work done by the screen designer is in specifying the various clauses to do with this command. Clauses specified at the Form, Screen, Page and Group levels to apply to all fields within that level.
It is used in record screens for record variables, in table
screens for table columns and in any screen for temporary variables.
The same variable can be referenced by multiple
FIELD commands on a screen.
The command is executed when the flow of control moves to it. The sequence of the commands determines the flow of control and this is the sequence followed by the cursor on the screen. The key fields for a record, or the index fields for a table, must be the first fields referenced on a screen. Field commands do not have to correspond to the sequence of variables in a row or record. All of the fields on a record or table do not have to be on a screen.
If
Example: To specify that an entry for
The
Example: Set the default for
If the user edits the field, the displayed field, including any characters
added or taken out by the display edit, become the input. This must be dealt
with, either by the user clearing the field when editing or by an
appropriate
Specify multiple
Use
Use
When the user requests help, if a screen name is specified, that help screen
is displayed; if a text string is specified, the string is displayed on the
status line at the bottom of the screen.
Example: Allow monthly rent to be entered if
Specify multiple
Variables can be computed using the
A) This checks that a record (
B) This checks for the opposite condition from A, that the record does not
already exist and gives an error message if this is not a new location.
C) This checks the record is present and that
Example:
The picture must be the same length as the input field. When changing the
length of the field to match the picture, the
The picture is composed of characters that must be matched exactly and character
codes for each position in the input string. The character codes are:
Example: The following
If the user inputs a field once and then edits it for input again without
clearing it completely and re-entering it, this may cause problems.
Any edits applied to a numeric field must produce a resulting legal numeric
value (digits, a plus or minus character and/or a decimal point).
(The
Fields cannot be changed from numeric to string or vice versa with this clause.
To specify a
If the value entered is within a range, the value is accepted and the cursor
moves on to the next field. If the value entered is within a range with a
message, the message is issued and the user has a chance to correct or
accept the value. If the value entered is outside all ranges, an error message
is issued and the value is rejected unless
Multiple ranges can be specified. The ranges must be in ascending order and
cannot overlap.
Example:
Keys are required by default and need not be specified as
Example : To ensure that the variable
This tests that the user has entered a value. This value may be blanks
since blanks is a valid character string and is a valid missing value. To
exclude blank names as well:
Example: To specify value labels for a temporary variable named
For string fields only, if the total width is larger than the display width, the
user can scroll horizontally through the field with the right and left
arrows. This allows entry, editing and display of long strings in a limited
area of the screen.
Syntax
Clauses:
The only required clause on the FIELD command
is the name of the variable.FIELD variable
BOOLEAN ( expression ) [OPTIONAL]
[NO]DATA
[AT r , c] [HILITE | VIDEO video_options]
DEFAULT expression
DISPLAY ['prompt' | VARDESC | VARLABEL | VARNAME] [VIDEO
video_options]
DSPEDIT
options
DSPTYPE
options
FINAL COMPUTE
variable=expression, ...
HELP
helpscreen | 'help_string'
IF
( expression )
INITIAL COMPUTE
variable=expression, ...
INSERT | OVERSTRIKE
LEFT | RIGHT
LENGTH
min, max
LOOKUP options
NOECHO
PATTERN
'pattern'
PICTURE
'picture'
PMTEDIT
options
PMTTYPE
options
[NO]PROMPT
{'string' | VARDESC | VARLABEL | VARNAME }
HILITE | VIDEO video_options
RANGE
(n,m) ['error message'] .... [OPTIONAL]
REQUIRED
TYPE
options
VALUELABELS
(n [,m]) 'string'
WIDTH
d,w
General Clauses:
ACTIVITIES permissions
AT [r][,c]
[NO]AUTOTAB
CLEAR 'c'
ERROR message_number [ VIDEO video_options ]
'error message'
LABELS n
PAD [n][,m]
BOOLEAN
BOOLEAN ( expression ) [OPTIONAL]
Specifies a logical expression that must be true for data to be accepted into
the field. After the field has been entered, the expression is evaluated and,
if false, an error message (Error 57) is issued and the cursor remains at the
field.OPTIONAL is specified, and the logical expression is false,
an error message is displayed to alert the user. The user can modify or
accept the field before moving to the next field. If OPTIONAL
is not specified, the user cannot accept a field which fails the test.BIRTHDAY is acceptable only if it falls within the last week,
specify:
FIELD BIRTHDAY BOOLEAN -
(BIRTHDAY GE (TODAY(0)-7) AND BIRTHDAY LE TODAY(0))
DATA
[NO]DATA [ AT r,c] [ HILITE | VIDEO video_options ]
Specifies attributes for the data area of a field. NODATA
suppresses the data area of the field. If NODATA and
NOPROMPT are specified nothing is displayed and the cursor
position remains unchanged.AT
specifies the starting position (row and column) of data area of
field. See AT for syntax.
HILITE
specifies the video treatment when cursor is in field.
VIDEO
specifies the video treatment of field at other times. See
video treatment for video_options.
Example: Highlight the field with bold video when the
cursor is positioned in the field. Position the data area below the prompt
area.
FIELD BIRTHDAY DATA HILITE BOLD AT +1"AT + 1" option on the DATA clause
positions the data area only. The data area is positioned on the next line, and
the column position is not changed. If the "AT + 1" was
specified as a clause on the FIELD instead of as a sub-clause
on DATA, it would position both the prompt and the data.
DEFAULT
DEFAULT expression
Specifies the default value for a field on a new record if the user skips
the field. Any arithmetic
expression,
function
or constant can be used.BIRTHDAY to
today's date.
FIELD BIRTHDAY DEFAULT TODAY(0)
DISPLAY
DISPLAY ['prompt string' | VARDESC | VARLABEL | VARNAME]
[VIDEO video_options]
Specifies that the field is display only. It cannot be modified nor can new
data be entered. The options on DISPLAY control the prompt
and are the same as the PROMPT clause.prompt string
Specifies a string that is used as the prompt.
VARDESC
Specifies that the variable name and label are used as the prompt
string.
VARLABEL
Specifies that the variable label is used as the prompt string. This
is the default.
VARNAME
Specifies that the variable name is used as the prompt string.
VIDEO
Specifies the video treatment of the prompt field. Because the
cursor never goes to a display field, only the
VIDEO clause is
applicable. See video treatment
for video_options.
DSPEDIT
DSPEDIT
CAPITALIZE
EDIT 'edit_template'
LEADING 'leading_string'
LEFT | RIGHT [FILL 'fill_character']
LOWERCASE
MASK {COMMA | DOLLAR | PERCENT}
MONEY
SCALE n
STRIP 'string'
TRAILING 'trailing_string'
TRUNCATE n
UPPERCASE
Specifies display edits. DSPEDIT alters the way the field is
displayed. If an error occurs in the execution of the DSPEDIT,
an error message is issued and the field is filled with X's. Use the
TYPE clause to increase the field length to accommodate extra
characters. PMTEDIT clause.CAPITALIZE
Specifies that the first character and every character following a
blank, is changed to upper case. Other characters are unchanged.
EDIT
Specifies an "edit template". Specify characters to display and use
the circumflex (^) to represent a character of data to achieve the desired
format. Characters are displayed as they appear in the template intermixed with
data. Strings are left-justified, numerics are right-justified.
If the template specifies more data characters than exist, excess
characters are filled with the
FILL character. If the
template specifies less data characters than exist, an error message is issued
and the field filled with X's.LEADING
Specifies a character string prefixed to the data.
LEFT
Specifies that the data characters are left-justified. Empty
positions are filled with the
FILL character.RIGHT
Specifies that the data characters are right-justified. Empty field
positions are filled with the
FILL character.FILL
Specifies a single "fill" character. Enclose the character in quotes.
Blank is the default.
LOWERCASE
Specifies that the text is converted to lowercase. When
LOWERCASE is used with CAPITALIZE, all
characters are LOWERCASEd then CAPITALIZEd.MASK
Specifies a mask applied to numeric values. Specify up to three
keywords:
COMMA inserts commas every three digits to the left
of the decimal point. DOLLAR prefixes the number with a
dollar sign ($). PERCENT appends a percent (%).
MONEY
Specifies the
DOLLAR and COMMA
mask. A dollar sign ($) is prefixed to the number and commas are inserted every
three digits to the left of the decimal point.SCALE
Specifies a constant "n" by which the data value is multiplied.
Note: When using a variable defined as scaled in the schema,
specify a
SCALE 1 in order to have the scaling computation
performed.STRIP
Specifies a set of characters removed from a field before it is
displayed. Each character is stripped out as a single character. Enclose the
list of characters or each individual character in single quotes.
TRAILING
Specifies a character string appended to the data before it is
displayed. Enclose the characters in single quotes.
TRUNCATE
Specifies that the field is truncated to "n" characters.
UPPERCASE
Specifies that all characters are converted to uppercase.
Example: The following template can be used to display a
social security number in the format ddd-dd-dddd:
FIELD SSN -
DSPEDIT EDIT '^^^-^^-^^^^'
DSPTYPE
DSPTYPE
DATE 'date_map'
EREAL n ,m
INTEGER n [,m]
REAL n ,m
STRING n
TIME 'time_map'
ZINTEGER n [,m]
Specifies the type of a field for display. Specify one of the following:DATE
Date variable described by the date map. Specify date maps in
uppercase. By default, dates are displayed using the format defined in the
schema. To display a temporary variable as a date, declare the variable as
numeric (real or integer).
FIELD BIRTH DSPTYPE DATE 'MM/DD/YY'EREAL
Real number n columns wide with m decimal places displayed in
exponential format. Specify the field width (using
TYPE ) at
least six positions greater than the number of decimal places.INTEGER
Integer number n columns wide, zero filled to m columns wide.
REAL
Real number n columns wide with m decimal places.
STRING
String variable n characters wide.
TIME
Time variable described by the time map. Specify time maps in
uppercase. To display a temporary variable as a time, declare the variable as
numeric on the
DECLARE clause of the FORM
command.ZINTEGER
Zero filled integer number n columns wide. Value m is accepted for
compatibility with
INTEGER, but has no effect.
ZINTEGER formats integers as zero-filled numbers. The field
is zero-filled to the left up to n characters.
FINAL
FINAL COMPUTE variable = expression, ...
IF ( expression ) variable = expression, ...
Specifies one or more variables computed when the user leaves the field.COMPUTE and IF statements
if required; only specify the keyword FINAL once. If
multiple COMPUTE and IF clauses are used,
use commas as delimiters between clauses.COMPUTE to simply compute a variable.IF to compute a variable under particular conditions.
When the IF clause is used, variables are computed only when
the expression following the IF clause is true. The
expression can be enclosed in parentheses if desired.
HELP
HELP screen_name | 'help_string'
Specifies a text string or the name of a help screen to display when
help for a specific field is requested by the user.
IF
IF ( logical_expression )
Specify an IF clause to control whether the cursor moves to
the field for data entry. If the expression is true, the cursor moves into the
field and data can be entered. If the expression is false, the cursor skips
over the field and data cannot be entered.OWNHOME is not equal to 1.
FIELD MONRENT IF (OWNHOME NE 1)
INITIAL
INITIAL COMPUTE variable = expression, ...
IF ( expression) variable = expression, ...
Specifies one or more variables computed when the cursor moves to the field.COMPUTE and IF statements
if required; only specify the keyword INITIAL once. If more
than one clause is used, use commas as delimiters between clauses.COMPUTE clause or
conditionally computed using the IF clause. When the
IF clause is used, variables are computed only when the
expression following the IF clause is true.
INSERT | OVERSTRIKE
Specifies that insert or overstrike mode is in effect for this field. Insert
specifies that new characters are inserted before the character at the cursor
position; overstrike specifies that the character at the current cursor position
is overwritten. The user can toggle between these modes. This clause sets
the initial mode. Insert is the default for multiple character fields;
overstrike is the default for single character fields.
LEFT | RIGHT
Specifies that the cursor is initially at the leftmost character or the
rightmost character of the field. Left is the default.
LENGTH
LENGTH min , max
Specifies the minimum and maximum length (in characters) of a field. If the
user enters fewer characters than the minimum or more characters than the
maximum, an error message is issued.
LOOKUP
LOOKUP {lookup expression}
[NOT]ON screen [/database.record | /tabfile.table]
BACKWARDS n | FORWARDS n
ERROR nnn 'message'
IF ( expression )
IN destination_expression
LOCK locktype
OPTIONAL | REQUIRED
REPORT 'message'
RETURNING expression, ... TO variable, ...
USING caseid [ * ] | [ key, ...]
VIA * | key, ...
Uses another screen to locate a record. Use LOOKUP to
establish the presence or absence of a record or to retrieve data from the
record that is looked up. Use LOOKUP to verify the field data
by testing stored value(s) in a record. LOOKUP can perform a
number of functions:
USING or VIA
clauses. If keys are not specified, the first record of that type is used.
USING or VIA
clauses.
lookup expression
Specifies a value which is tested against the retrieved data
(specified by the
IN clause). By default, the field value is
used. For example, if this field were DOSAGE, and this has to
be multiplied by the doses per day to check the value on a reference record,
specify:FIELD DOSAGE -
LOOKUP DOSAGE*QTY ON DRUGREF -
USING -1,DRUGID IN MAXDOSE
[NOT]ON
Specifies the screen which defines the record or table to be used.
This clause (
ON or NOTON) is the only
required clause. The clause references the screen name. If the screen
name is not the same as the record or table, the record name or table name MUST
be quoted as part of the screen name. Specify the database or tabfile if they
are not the default.ON checks that the record exists and returns an
error message if a record matching the search criteria is not found.NOTON checks that no records matching the search
criteria exist. NOTON returns an error message if a record
matching the search criteria is found. For example, when adding
new people, the social security number could be tested to be
NOTON an inverted list of current social security numbers.BACKWARDS n|
FORWARDS n
Sets the direction of a record search. If a full key is not
specified in the
USING or VIA, the direction
of search may be relevant. The default direction is FORWARD.
If a number is specified, the nth record matching the search criteria is
selected.ERROR nnn
Specifies alternative text for error messages.
59 is "Lookup
Failure"; 60 is "Lookup Warning". IF
Specifies an expression that controls whether the
LOOKUP clause is executed. If the expression is true, the
LOOKUP is performed. If it is false, the
LOOKUP is not performed. IN
Specifies an expression which is tested against the current field or
the source expression. If a match is not found, an error message is issued.
Use variables from the screen being looked up.
If a full key is specified with a
VIA or
USING, IN tests on that record. If a
partial key is specified, the set of records is searched for a match. If a
number is specified on FORWARDS or
BACKWARDS, the nth matching record is used.LOCK
Specifies the
lock the called screen uses when more than
concurrent operations (more than one user accessing the database) are envisaged.
There is no reason ever to have a lock type other than 'CR' (concurrent read) for lookups.
OPTIONAL |
REQUIRED
If the lookup fails and the lookup is
REQUIRED, the
value is not accepted and must be re-entered. Specify
OPTIONAL to issue a warning message, letting the user
continue and accept the field. REQUIRED is the
default.REPORT
Specifies a constant (a string), which is displayed when the lookup
is successful. To display individual values from the lookup record, use
RETURNING to bring those values into fields that can be
referenced and displayed on this screen.RETURNING
Specifies the value(s) (variable names or expressions) from the
lookup record that are transferred to the fields in the
TO
list. The RETURNING and the TO list are
positionally matched. The first variable in the RETURNING
list is moved to the first variable in the TO list, the second
to the second and so on. Variables referenced in the
RETURNING list must be available to the lookup record;
variables in the TO list must be available to the current
record.USING
Specifies that the
LOOKUP uses a different case in
a case structured database. Use VIA to lookup records in the
current case. Specify the case id value, optionally followed by the key fields.
Specify an asterisk (*) to use the key fields of the current screen. Do not
specify USING for caseless databases nor in conjunction with
the VIA clause.VIA
Specifies the key fields for a lookup within this case on a case
structured database, for any lookup on a caseless database or a lookup to an
indexed
Lookup examples:TABLE screen. Specify values for the key fields.
Specify an asterisk (*) to indicate that the key fields of the current screen
are to be used. If the specified key(s) are not explicit to one record, but
define a set of records, the first record which matches the IN
clause is used. If there is no IN clause, the first record in
the set is used. (This can be changed from the first to the last or the nth
with the FORWARD and BACKWARDS clauses).LOCREC) exists with a special
case id (-1) which has a key of LOCATION and gives an error
message if the record is not there. The lookup screen is also called
LOCREC and is in the form definition solely to be used as a
lookup. It has just the keys defined and is never displayed.
FIELD LOCATION -
LOOKUP ON LOCREC USING -1, LOCATION-
ERROR 59 'Invalid Location Code - Please Re-enter'
..
RECORD LOCREC / COMPANY.LOCREC
field ID
END RECORD
FIELD LOCATION LOOKUP NOTON LOCREC USING -1, LOCATION -
ERROR 59 'Location Code Already Exists - Please Re-enter'
STATUS ( a field
on the location record) equals 1.
FIELD LOCATION 1 LOOKUP ON LOCREC USING -1, LOCATION-
IN STATUS -
ERROR 59 'Location Not Found or Not Active'
D) This returns the location status to a temporary field
XSTATUS (which has been DECLAREd on the
FORM command) and then displays the result.
FIELD LOCATION LOOKUP ON LOCREC USING -1, LOCATION-
RETURNING STATUS to XSTATUS -
ERROR 59 'Invalid Location Code - Please Re-enter'
FIELD XSTATUS DISPLAY 'Location Status'
If the screen which referenced the record LOCREC had a
different name, say XLOCREC, for some reason, the lookup
clause must name both the record and screen name:RECORD XLOCREC / COMPANY.LOCREC
FIELD LOCATION LOOKUP ON XLOCREC / COMPANY.LOCREC
NOECHO
NOECHO
NOECHO suppresses the display of input for a field as it is
entered and subsequent displays of the data portion of the field.
PATTERN
PATTERN 'edit pattern'
PATTERN specifies an edit for validating input data. If the
value matches the pattern, the value is accepted. If it does not match, an
error message is issued (Error 113) and the value is not accepted. An edit
pattern is specified as characters that must match exactly and the percent sign
(%), which indicates that from zero to 'n' characters are not tested. Character
codes, such as those on the PICTURE clause, are not used. Both
PATTERN and PICTURE clauses can be specified
for the same field.
PATTERN '%-%'
PATTERN '%-%-%'
PATTERN 'E%/%E'
The first example tests that the input has a "-" somewhere in it. The
second tests that there are two "-", possibly separated by other
characters. The third example tests that the input begins and ends with an "E"
and has a "/" somewhere in the middle.
PICTURE
PICTURE 'picture string'
PICTURE specifies a picture string for validating user
input. The data is accepted when the value entered by the user matches the
picture. If it does not match, an error message (Error 16) is issued and the
data is not accepted. Any picture specifications are added to the default help
screen for the field.TYPE clause must
precede the PICTURE clause.
Using uppercase or lowercase for the codes determines whether or not blanks are
also allowed. Codes in lowercase specify that blanks are not allowed. Codes in
uppercase allow either the specified character type or a blank. For example,
"A" indicates any letter or a blank; "D" indicates any digit or a blank; and so
on. "x" matches anything except blank; "X" matches anything.
a any letter
d any digit
n any letter or digit
s a
numeric value (0-9, decimal point, +, -, E)
u any uppercase letter
l any
lowercase letter
x any characterPICTURE clause
validates input of a social security number. The expected picture is 3 digits,
a dash, 2 digits, a dash, and 4 digits (eg., 123-54-6789).
PICTURE 'ddd-dd-dddd'
PMTEDIT
PMTEDIT
CAPITALIZE
EDIT 'edit_template'
LEADING 'leading_string'
LEFT | RIGHT [FILL 'fill_character']
LOWERCASE
MONEY
SCALE n
STRIP 'strip_string'
TRAILING 'trailing_string'
TRUNCATE n
UPPERCASE
The PMTEDIT clause specifies permanent edits
(PerManenT EDITs) that are applied to the value in the
variable. The value entered is edited according to the specified options and
the edited value is stored in the database. The editing also updates the data
on the screen. These edits are applied to the field whenever it is modified.PMTEDIT updates the field and, once the field is edited and
re-input, all characters are read again. A PMTEDIT such as
LOWERCASE is no problem because making a field lowercase twice
does not impact it; however clauses such as EDIT, LEADING,
SCALE and TRAILING, all update the field. If the
field is edited again, these clauses are applied again and may give unexpected
results.CAPITALIZE
Specifies that the first character of the string and every character
following a blank is capitalised. Other characters are unaffected.
EDIT
Specifies a template that is used to edit the data. The circumflex (
^ ) represents one character of the data value. Any other characters are
inserted exactly as they appear in the template. The number of circumflex
determines how many characters are going to be able to be entered.
LEADING
Specifies a character string that is prefixed to the data.
LEFT
Specifies that the entered characters are left-justified. Any
unoccupied field positions are filled with the
FILL character.
RIGHT
Specifies that the entered characters are right-justified. Any
unoccupied field positions are filled with the
FILL character.
FILL
Specifies the fill character. Blank is the default fill character.
LOWERCASE
Specifies that all characters are converted to lowercase. When
LOWERCASE is used with CAPITALIZE, all
characters that are not capitalised are lowercase. MONEY
Specifies that the dollar sign ($) and commas associated with a
numeric field are removed. If
MONEY is not specified, dollar
sign and commas are illegal in a numeric field. Increase the width of the field
with the TYPE clause to allow for these characters.SCALE
Specifies a constant "n" by which a numeric value is multiplied. If
the field is defined as a scaled variable in the schema, a scale factor of 1
specifies that the dictionary scaling should be applied.
STRIP
Specifies characters to be stripped from the field. Each character
is treated as a single character and is stripped from the string wherever it
occurs.
TRAILING
Specifies a character string that is appended to the field.
TRUNCATE
Specifies that the field is truncated to "n" characters.
UPPERCASE
Specifies that the field is converted to uppercase.
Example: A field for entering a social security number may
be defined with hyphens or slashes. The following strip clause removes these:
field SS pmtedit strip '-/'
PMTTYPE
PMTTYPE
DATE 'date_map'
EREAL n , m
INTEGER n
REAL n , m
STRING n
TIME 'time_map'
PMTTYPE changes the type and width of a field. When a
variable is defined in the database or in a table, it can have a standard
external format. For example, an integer might be defined as 4 characters long.
The PMTTYPE allows for additional field positions which are
not stripped out by one of the edit clauses.DSPTYPE changes the width of the display field but not
the number of digits. This allows for additional characters such as dollar
signs or other edit characters.) The TYPE clause changes both
the DSPTYPE and the PMTTYPE.DATE or TIME type for a
temporary variable, declare the variable as real on the
DECLARE clause of the FORM command.DATE
Specifies a date integer described by a date map.
EREAL
Specifies a real number n columns wide with m decimal places.
EREAL specifies that numeric data is displayed in scientific
format. The width must be at least six positions greater than the number of
decimal places.INTEGER
Specifies a integer number n columns wide
REAL
Specifies a real number n columns wide with m decimal places
STRING
Specifies a string variable n characters wide
TIME
Specifies a time variable described by a time map
PROMPT
[NO]PROMPT [ 'prompt-string' | VARDESC | VARLABEL | VARNAME
HILITE | VIDEO video_options
AT [r] [,c] ]
PROMPT specifies how the prompt for this field is displayed.
NOPROMPT suppresses the prompt for the field. If both
NOPROMPT and NODATA are specified, nothing
is displayed and the cursor position remains unchanged.prompt string
Specifies the prompt.
VARDESC
Specifies that the variable name and label are the prompt.
VARLABEL
Specifies that the variable label is the prompt. This is the
default.
VARNAME
Specifies that the variable name is the prompt.
HILITE
Specifies the video attributes when the cursor is at this field.
VIDEO
Specifies the video options when the cursor is not at this
field (See video treatment
for video attributes).
AT
Positions the prompt (See
AT).
RANGE
RANGE (value1 [,value2]) ['error message']
(value3 [,value4]) ['error message'] ... [OPTIONAL]
RANGE (or RANGES) specifies ranges for edit
checking. Ranges must be within any valid ranges specified for the variable on
the data dictionary. The values specified can be constants or the keywords
LO or HI meaning the lower and upper valid
value respectively. Variable names or expressions are not allowed.OPTIONAL is
specified. This allows the user to accept a value outside any of the ranges
specified here. The user cannot enter a value outside any ranges specified
in the data dictionary. Specify OPTIONAL once, after the
final range.HEIGHT is defined in the data
dictionary with the range 48 to 84 inches. The RANGE is
specified to warn the user when values below 60 or above 78 inches are
entered.
FIELD HEIGHT -
RANGES (LO, 60) 'Are you sure they are this short ?'-
(61, 78) -
(79, HI) 'Are you sure they are this tall ?'
REQUIRED
REQUIRED
Specifies that the field is required. The user cannot skip this field and
cannot go on to the next field without entering data. The user cannot clear
a required field. If the required field is within a group, the group can be
skipped but the user cannot save a record having skipped any required
fields. (Error message 20)REQUIRED.NAME is
always entered:
FIELD NAME REQUIREDFIELD NAME REQUIRED -
BOOLEAN (EXISTS(NAME)) -
Error 57 'You must enter a name for an employee' -
Error 20 'You must enter a name for an employee'
TYPE
TYPE
DATE 'date_map'
EREAL n , m
INTEGER n [ , m ]
REAL n , m
STRING n
TIME 'time_map'
ZINTEGER n [ , m ]
Specifies the type and width of the field. The default is the data dictionary
definition. TYPE does not affect the way the variable is
stored in the database; it is always stored according to the data dictionary.
The following types can be defined:DATE
Specifies a date variable described by a date map. If a
DATE type is specified for a temporary variable, that variable
must be declared as real on the DECLARE clause on the
FORM command.EREAL
Specifies a real number n columns wide with m decimal places.
EREAL specifies that numeric data is displayed in scientific
format. The width must be at least six positions greater than the number of
decimal places.INTEGER
Specifies an integer number n columns wide, zero filled to m columns
wide.
REAL
Specifies a real number n columns wide with m decimal places.
STRING
Specifies a string variable n characters wide.
TIME
Specifies a time variable described by a time map. If a
TIME type is specified for a temporary variable, that variable
must be declared as real on the DECLARE clause of the
FORM command.ZINTEGER
Specifies a zero filled integer number n columns wide. Value m is
accepted for compatibility with
INTEGER but has no effect.
ZINTEGER formats integers as zero-filled numbers.
VALUELABELS
VALUELABELS ( value [ , value ] ) [ 'string' ], . . .
Specifies value labels for variables. If a variable is a temporary variable or
does not have value labels, the VALUELABELS clause provides a
means of defining them. If a variable already has value labels defined in the
database, the VALUELABELS clause provides alternatives.AGECAT (age category):
For values 1 through 3, display
"Children".
For values 4 through 6, display "Young Adults".
For values 7
through 9, display "Adults".
FIELD AGECAT -
VALUELABELS (1 ,3) 'Children' -
(4 ,6) 'Young Adults' -
(7 ,9) 'Adults'
WIDTH
WIDTH d,w
Specifies the display width d, and the total width w. The display width is the
width seen on the screen, the total width is the maximum number of characters
that can be entered.