Variables Explains how to define program variables. Understanding variables This is an introduction to variables. DEFINE A variable contains volatile information of a specific data type. Declaration context A variable can be declared in different contexts, which defines its visibility. Structured variables Variables can be declared with a composite data type, based on simple data types. Database column types Simple variables and record structures can be defined from database columns types. User defined types User defined types help to centralize the definition of complex structured data types. Initialization values Variables are initialized differently depending on the data type. Definition attributes Variables can be defined with meta-data information. INITIALIZE The INITIALIZE instruction initializes program variables with NULL or default values. LOCATE (for TEXT/BYTE) The LOCATE statement specifies where to store data of TEXT and BYTE variables. FREE (for TEXT/BYTE) The FREE statement releases resources allocated to the specified variable. LET The LET statement assigns values to variables. VALIDATE The VALIDATE instructions checks a variable value based on database schema validation rules. Examples Variable definition usage examples.