Form specification files / Form file structure |
Defines the list of database tables referenced by form field definitions.
TABLES [ alias = [database[@dbserver]:][owner.] ] table [,...] [END]
The TABLES section lists every database table or view referenced the form specification file. This section is mandatory when form fields reference database columns defined in the database schema file.
The TABLES section must follow the LAYOUT section, and the SCHEMA section must also exist to define the database schema.
The END keyword is optional.
Field identifiers in programs or in other sections of the form specification file can reference screen fields as column, alias.column, or table.column.
The same alias must also appear in screen interaction statements of programs that reference screen fields linked to the columns of a table that has an alias.
If a table requires the name of an owner or of a database as a qualifier, the TABLES section must also declare an alias for the table. The alias can be the same identifier as table.
For backward compatibility with the Informix form specification, the comma separator is optional and the database, dbserver and owner specifications are ignored.
SCHEMA stores LAYOUT { ... } END TABLES customer, orders END ...