Defining Functions › Function Fields › Basic Properties of Function Fields

Basic Properties of Function Fields

There are six different types or usages of function fields. The following four usages provide standard field level functions:

• Sum (SUM)
• Count (CNT)
• Maximum (MAX)
• Minimum (MIN)

The other two fields enable you to define your own function fields, either with or without a user-specified calculation to derive the field. These function field usage types are:

• Derived (DRV)
• User (USR)

Function field parameters specify which field values are passed into the function at execution time and, inversely, which field is returned from the function as the result field.

Derived (DRV) function fields must have one output parameter and can have many input parameters.

Maximum (MAX), Minimum (MIN), Count (CNT) and Sum (SUM) function fields have only one output parameter (the field itself) and only one input parameter that defines a field on which the calculation is based.

USR usage function fields have no associated parameters. These fields are typically used as work fields in an action diagram.

DRV usage function fields have associated action diagrams. A free-form action diagram shell (such as for EXCINTFUN) is associated with the derived function field to specify processing steps.