General syntax of DEFINE DATA OBJECT:
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OBJECT |
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USING |
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local-data-area |
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| parameter-data-area | |||||||||||
data-definition |
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This document covers the following topics:
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagram, see Syntax Symbols.
The DEFINE DATA OBJECT statement is used in a subprogram or
class in conjunction with NaturalX. For further information, refer to the
section NaturalX
in the Programming Guide.
| USING local-data-area | A
local data
area (LDA) contains data elements which are to be used in a single
Natural module. You may reference more than one data area; in that case you
have to repeat the reserved words OBJECT and USING,
for example:
DEFINE DATA OBJECT USING DATX_L OBJECT USING DATX_P ... END-DEFINE ;For further information, see also Defining Fields in a Separate Data Area in the Programming Guide. |
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| USING parameter-data-area | A data area defined with
DEFINE DATA OBJECT may be a parameter data area (PDA). By using a
PDA as an object data area you can avoid the extra effort of creating an object
data area that has the same structure as the PDA.
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| data-definition | Data can also be defined directly using the syntax shown in the section Direct Data Definition below. |
| END-DEFINE | The Natural reserved word
END-DEFINE must be used to end the DEFINE DATA
statement.
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Data can also be defined directly using the following syntax:
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level |
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group-name [(array-definition)] |
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| variable-definition | |||||
| view-definition | |||||
| redefinition | |||||
| handle-definition |
For further information, see also Defining Fields within a DEFINE DATA Statement in the Programming Guide.
| level |
Level number is a 1- or 2-digit number in the range from 01 to 99 (the leading zero is optional) used in conjunction with field grouping. Fields assigned a level number of 02 or greater are considered to be a part of the immediately preceding group which has been assigned a lower level number. The definition of a group enables reference to a series of fields
(may also be only 1 field) by using the group name. With certain statements
( A group may consist of other groups. When assigning the level numbers for a group, no level numbers may be skipped. A view-definition must always be defined at Level 1. |
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| group-name | The name of a group. The name must adhere to the rules for
defining a Natural variable name. See also the following sections:
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| array-definition | With an array-definition, you define the lower and upper bounds of dimensions in an array-definition. See Array Dimension Definition. |
| variable-definition | A variable-definition is used to define a single field/variable that may be single-valued (scalar) or multi-valued (array). See Variable Definition. |
| view-definition | A view-definition is used to define a view as derived from a data definition module (DDM). See View Definition. |
| redefinition | A redefinition may be used to redefine a group, a view, a DDM field or a single field/variable (that is a scalar or an array). See Redefinition. |
| handle-definition | A handle identifies a dialog element in code and is stored in handle variables. See Handle Definition. |
