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.