13.4 RDML Field Attributes and their Use

Whenever fields are declared in a FIELDS parameter they can have various attributes associated with them. This applies equally to the FIELDS parameter of an I/O command such as FETCH, DISPLAY or UPRINT and to the FIELDS parameter of a GROUP_BY, DEF_LIST, DEF_HEAD, DEF_FOOT, DEF_LINE or DEF_BREAK command.

Attributes assigned to fields in expandable groups are ignored. Refer to Special Considerations for Expandable Groups for details.

When a field in a FIELDS parameter is to have attributes associated with it, it must be individually enclosed in parenthesis with its attributes. For instance consider the following, where a1 … a7 are the special attributes assigned to field #ORDLIN:

     REQUEST    FIELDS(#ORDLIN #PRODUCT)

or the identical commands:

     GROUP_BY   #ORDERLINE FIELDS(#ORDLIN #PRODUCT)
     REQUEST    FIELDS(#ORDERLINE)

If the field #ORDLIN is to be assigned some special attributes, then the commands would have to be modified like this:

     REQUEST    FIELDS((#ORDLIN a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7) #PRODUCT)
     GROUP_BY  #ORDERLINE FIELDS((#ORDLIN a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7)
                                  #PRODUCT)
     REQUEST   FIELDS(#ORDERLINE)

Up to 7 special attributes may be assigned to any field in a list or group.

Attribute Notes

Attributes assigned to fields in expandable groups are ignored.

In this example, the attributes of field FA001 in the expandable group #XG_001 are ignored in the REQUEST command:

     GROUP_BY   NAME(#XG_001) FIELDS((#FA001 *BLUE *BL) (#FA002))
     GROUP_BY   NAME(#XG_002) FIELDS((#XG_001) (#FA003))
     REQUEST    FIELDS(#XG_002)

Attributes assigned to expandable groups within a list or another expandable group are also ignored.

In this example, the attributes assigned to the expandable group #XG_001 in the REQUEST command are ignored:

     GROUP_BY   NAME(#XG_001) FIELDS((#FA001) (#FA002) (#FA003))
     REQUEST    FIELDS((#XG_001 *BLUE *BL))

Attributes assigned to individual fields in a field list, which include expandable group entries are acknowledged.

In this example, only the attributes assigned to field #FA005 in the REQUEST command are acknowledged:

     GROUP_BY   NAME(#XG_001) FIELDS((#FA001 *BLUE *BL) (#FA002))
     GROUP_BY   NAME(#XG_002) FIELDS((#FA003 *BL) (#FA004))
     REQUEST    FIELDS((#XG_001) (#XG_002) (#FA005 *BLUE *BL))

Refer to these topics for a list and examples of special attributes that can be used with a field:

13.4.1 Output Only Attributes

13.4.2 Field Conditioning Attributes

13.4.3 Field Display Attributes

13.4.4 Field Identification Attributes

13.4.5 Field Position Attributes

13.4.6 Hidden Field Attribute and the Select Field Attribute

13.4.7 New Format Attribute and Repeat Attributes

13.4.8 Print Control Attributes