Database Naming Conventions

Database Field Naming Conventions

In the Database Definition utility (dbdef), fields are named using the following conventions:

Syntax	Used for	Example
D@FieldName	Key variables.	D@STATE
D#START#FieldName D#END#FieldName	Subrange key variables.	D#START#VENDOR
DPFX FieldName	File fields. In this example, the prefix (PFX) is CRL and the field name is FRDRCD.	DCRLFRCRCD
DPFX@FieldName	Variables as the record found flag.	DPSA@NOTFOUND
DPFX@C@FieldName	Comment attachment variables.	DAGP@C@NAME
DPFS@U@FieldName	URL attachment variables.	DAGP@U@TYPE
DPFX@Abbr@FieldName	Database aggregate fields. For Abbr, use AV Average AG Aggregate SU Sum MI Mimimum MA Maximum	DCRL@AV@CRRTBL

4GL Index Naming Conventions

In the Database Definition utility (dbdef), indexes are named using the following format:

<FilePrefix>SET<n>, where

• <FilePrefix> is a three-letter abbreviation for the file.

• <n> is an integer representing the Index number. The following conventions are often used, although they are not a requirement.

• 1 is used for the primary (first) Index.

• 2 through 16 are used for secondary indexes.

  For example, the primary index on the GLMASTER file is GLMSET1.

IBM i Index (Logical) Naming Conventions

The naming convention for indexes (logicals) in the RPG code is as follows:

DB<SystemCode><FilePrefix><IndexNbr>

where <SystemCode> is the system code the file you are inquiring on is associated with, <FilePrefix> is the prefix as defined in the Database Definition utility (dbdef) for the file, and <IndexNbr> is the number of the index you want to use to perform the call.

Most of the calls to the database input/output routines include the logical as part of the call. Whenever you see <Logical> in the documentation for a database input/output routine, it refers to the DB<SystemCode><FilePrefix><IndexNbr> naming convention.