1.2 What goes into a Field Definition?

When you are defining field definitions, you are really:

• designing your screens

• designing your reports

• adding application logic.

In addition to the expected field attributes, LANSA field definitions include:

• Descriptions
  Labels, Column Headings, Default values & edit codes, etc.

• Rules and Triggers
  Validations to be checked and actions to be executed when adding, changing, and deleting a field.

• Help Text
  Information at the field level for the user as well as technical information for developers. (Help text is also used by LANSA's automatic documentation facility.)

• System Variables
  Fields which are defined once and can be used across partitions.

All fields, including "working" fields should be defined in the Repository. After a period of time, most working fields will be defined. Defining all fields in the Repository will provide time savings for future projects as well as providing comprehensive cross-referencing capabilities. The more field definitions entered into the Repository, the higher the productivity gains.

Field definitions are stored in the Data Dictionary area of the Repository.