Variables Explains how to define program variables. Understanding variablesThis is an introduction to variables.DEFINEA variable contains volatile information of a specific data type.Declaration contextA variable can be declared in different contexts, which defines its visibility.Structured variablesVariables can be declared with a composite data type, based on simple data types.Database column typesSimple variables and record structures can be defined from database columns types.User defined typesUser defined types help to centralize the definition of complex structured data types.Variable default valuesVariables get a default value when defined.Variable initializersVariables can be initialized with a literal.Definition attributesVariables can be defined with meta-data information.INITIALIZEThe 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.LETThe LET statement assigns values to variables.VALIDATEThe VALIDATE instructions checks a variable value based on database schema validation rules.ExamplesVariable definition usage examples.