Coding Standards for Database Files › Physical and Logical Database Files › Arrays

Arrays

DDS does not provide support for arrays (for instance an OCCURS facility) because the relational model upon which it is based does not allow arrays. Even if you group fields into arrays within HLL programs, you should still always define each element as a discrete database field, otherwise it cannot be changed with DFU, or listed with Query. In other words, do not define an array as a single field in the database and redefine it in a program.

Array fields should be given numbered names, for example PR01, PR02, PR03. In the field dictionary, the definition of all elements should be based on that of the first element by using the DDS REFFLD keyword.