› KCM Database Interface Definition Guide › DID specification language › Fields › Field attributes

Field attributes

All Fields have the following attributes:

  • Name

    Sets the name of the Field. This name is used in the Master Template development. The name must begin with an uppercase character and can be followed by lowercase characters, uppercase characters, digits, and underscores. 

    field-name ::=
uppercase-itp-name

  • Type

    The type consists of a type name, an optional length definition, and optional alignment information. The KCM DID specification language allows you to use all types of every connection in DID modules. These types are the Field types that KCM retrieves and converts during the Master Template execution by mapping the values to the type values of the Template scripting language: NUMBER, TEXT, and BOOL.

  • Length

    Length definition depends on the Field type. Some numerical types have a double length definition. In this case, the first parameter indicates the byte size of the Field, and the second parameter indicates the number of decimals. For null-terminated data types, such as C_CHAR, W_CHAR, or NUMERICAL, the null character should be included in the byte-count.

  • Alignment

    Fields can contain alignment information. When a Field is left-aligned, KCM strips spaces at the end of the Field. When a Field is right-aligned, KCM strips spaces at the beginning of the Field. Left-alignment is used by default.

  • Database Field

    Stores names of Fields and columns of database management systems. Some database management systems use naming conventions that yield names that are invalid according to the KCM naming convention. In some connection types, KCM queries the database management system directly. Therefore, KCM needs the information on how the Field or column is known in the database management system. The value of the database Field attribute can be any string that is a valid Field or column specification. The connection type determines if values are valid.

  • Screen Field

    Some connection types use this attribute to construct a key retrieval definition automatically. The screen Field attribute expects a natural number that specifies the order in which the screen Fields are presented. The lower numbers are parsed first. When you specify the same number twice, the order for the Fields is determined by KCM.

In addition to this set of parameters, a Field can have a calling connection attribute that depends on the connection type specified.