- Data Concepts

Data Concepts

PROIV recognises three types of data: alphanumeric, numeric, and wide (multi-byte). All data types have an associated set of operators that can be used on the data. PROIV associates a data type with constants, variables and expressions:

A constant is a literal representing a value of alphanumeric, wide, or numeric data.
A variable is an entity that can assume different values during function execution. The data type of a variable determines the values that the variable can assume.

An expression can comprise a constant or a variable, or a combination of these separated by operators. Every expression is associated with a data type.

Arrays

An array (or table) is a collection of elements that are associated with a single variable name.

There are two ways to specify a PROIV Array:

If the array is stored in a file record, it is defined in the File Definition screen by specifying an array size for a file variable. The array is stored in each record of the file but may contain different values in each record.
If the array is needed in only one function, a scratch variable array is created using the DEFINE statement. All values in the array must be set up in the function and are lost when the function is exited.

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Topic ID: 730001