Defining Arrays › Structuring Field Data Using Arrays

Structuring Field Data Using Arrays

Since a single-element array is equivalent to a data structure, you can use the *CVTVAR built-in function and the ELM context to apply a data structure to a field. This gives you a simple way to decompose a field into a structure and to (re)compose a set of fields into a single field in a single operation.

Structure files (STR) provide a similar capability, but you need to be a designer (*DSNR) to define a structure file. Both *DSNR and *PGMR can define arrays.

For more information on structuring field data and examples, see the sections Understanding Built-In Functions (*CVTVAR), and Understanding Contexts (ELM) in the chapter "Modifying Action Diagrams," in Building Applications.