Data Definition Language (DDL) Reference Manual

Data Definition Language (DDL) Reference Manual—529431-004
6-1
6 Definition Attributes
Definition attributes are part of definitions and records, which are dictionary objects that
describe data structures and disk-file record structures. Each definition and record
includes attributes such as size, data type, and usage. The definition attributes are
defined by clauses in DEFINITION statements or in the record structure portion of
RECORD statements. Many of these clauses are similar to COBOL clauses of the
same name.
Table 6-1. Definition and Record Clauses (page1of2)
Clause Function
AS
* Specifies a display string for a value of type ENUM
DISPLAY
* Specifies a default display format for field or group values
listed on an Enform Plus report
EDIT-PIC
* Specifies the format in which Pathmaker-generated
requesters display a field’s data on a screen
EXTERNAL
Writes the EXTERNAL clause to COBOL source code files
FILLER
Defines an unnamed field that is never referenced directly
HEADING
* Specifies a default field heading for values listed on Enform
Plus reports or displayed on screens generated by ENABLE
and Pathmaker
HELP
* Assigns help text, used by Pathmaker-generated requesters,
to a group or elementary item in a DEFINITION statement.
JUSTIFIED
Writes the JUSTIFIED RIGHT clause to COBOL source code
files
KEYTAG
Specifies that a field or group is an Enscribe key field
LN
Specifies a locale name (language, territory, and character
set) for a value in a CONSTANT statement, AS clause,
HEADING clause, VALUE clause, or 88 condition-name
clause
MUST BE
* Specifies the set of valid values for a field
NULL
* Assigns a null value to a field or group used as an Enscribe
alternate key
OCCURS
Repeats a field or group a fixed number of times
OCCURS DEPENDING ON
Repeats a field or group a variable number of times (for
COBOL and DDL source code only)
PICTURE
Specifies (using COBOL notation) the data type and size of a
field
REDEFINES
Assigns a new name and, optionally, a new structure to a
previously defined field or group
* The DDL compiler ignores this clause when generating host-language source code.