Field names

Field name rules

Every field in a Model 204 file has a field name by which it is referenced. The following restrictions apply to field names:

• Field names must begin with a letter.
• When more than one consecutive space appears in a field name, the extra spaces are ignored.
• Field names can contain as many as 255 characters. Field names should be short enough to enter easily, but long enough to have meaning.
• Certain restricted words and special characters either cannot be used at all or can be used only with special syntax.

Reserved characters allowed in field names with special syntax

If any of the reserved characters listed in Reserved characters allowed in field names with special syntax is embedded in a field name, the character must be part of a quoted string. When forming field names, avoid the following characters.

Reserved characters allowed with special syntax

$	>	+
(	<	- (minus sign/hyphen)
)	*	^
=	/	,
...	:	%

Reserved characters not allowed in field names

The special characters listed in Reserved characters not allowed in field names cannot be used in field names.

Reserved characters not allowed in field names

??	@ (as delete character)
?$	# (as flush character)
?	;
&

Note

The delete (@) and flush (#) characters used at an installation are controlled by the ERASE and FLUSH parameters, described in the Model 204 Parameter and Command Reference. If different symbols are chosen, the restriction on using these characters in field names applies to the new symbols.

Examples

Some examples of valid field names are:

A534 A' = B' ANNUAL.%INTEREST YEAR.TO.DATE JULY.3.95

Some examples of invalid field names are:

%INTEREST YEAR TO DATE USE COUNT NAME?? 3JULY95

Reserved words requiring special attention in field names

The following conditions apply to the reserved words or operators listed in Reserved words requiring special attention in field names:

• The word can be part of an unquoted string as long as it is not surrounded by spaces:

NORTHERN SALES is acceptable but NOR SLS is not.

• The word can be part of a quoted string as long as it does not stand alone:

A 'OR' B is acceptable but 'OR' is not.

Although you can define field names using reserved words, programs that reference those fields might not compile and you might receive errors or other unexpected results.

Reserved words requiring special attention

AFTER	COUNT	LIKE	ORIF	VALUES	LT
ALL	EACH	NOR	RECORD	WHERE	NE
AND	EDIT	NOT	RECORDS	WITH
ANDIF	END	OCC	TAB	EQ
AT	FROM	OCCURRENCE	THEN	GE
BEFORE	IN	ON	TO	GT
BY	IS	OR	VALUE	LE

Using reserved words or characters in field names

If you do use reserved words or characters as part of a field name, you can reference the field names by enclosing the field name with the reserved word or character in single quotation marks. The following example uses a field name called NOR SLS:

FIND ALL RECORDS WITH 'NOR SLS' = 100000...

To delete a procedure with a reserved character:

DELETE PROC '%SAVINGS'