Placing Columns Into Tables

So far we have seen that tables are organized into modules, and that columns are defined outside of tables and then placed into them. We will now see how to do this.

table orders:
    module: ordering
    description: Orders
    uisort: 100
    
    # In this example, we will use all pre-defined columns
    column recnum:
        description: Order Num
        primary_key: Y
    column first_name:
        uisearch: Y
    column last_name:
    column add1:
    column add2:

In the above example, we see that the columns are indentented and name one-by-one in the familiar pattern of "column -name-:". Any additional properties we set for the columns then appear indented another level.

You cannot modify the type, precision or scale of a column when placing it into a table, but you can modify just about anything else. In fact, much of the power of Andromeda comes into play when you enable automations on columns.

All of the columns we have put into the table so far are pre-defined columns. Andromeda has defined them in a separate file and they are available to all of your applications.

A Note About the recnum Column

The recnum column is a pre-defined int column that automatically gets incrementing values with each inserted row. This is similar to the "order_id" column you see in many systems.

If you prefer to have a column named "order_id" that auto-increments, you may want to jump ahead to the page on the sequence automation.

Overriding the Description

The pre-defined column "recnum" has a built-in description of "Generic Record Number". This is not really something we want plastered on our admin screens, so we have changed the description when placing the column into the table.

The primary_key Flag

Every table must have a primary key composed of at least one column. In the above example, the "recnum" column is the primary key. If you have a table with a compound primary key you just set the flag on all appropriate columns.

The uisearch Flag

Andromeda builds a very powerful admin interface for you, but it needs to know a few things about how you want to display your table to the users. The "uisearch" flag means that this column will be used on grids and lookup screens.

Every table requires at least one column to have uisearch set to yes.

Renaming Columns

Andromeda lets you place the same column into a table multiple times with different names. The new column name always is built from the original column name, either by adding a suffix, a prefix, or both.

table example:
    # detail....
    
    column add1:
    column new_add1:
        prefix: new_
    column add1_old:
        suffix: _old
    column x_add1_y:
        prefix: x_
        suffix: _y

In this example we have created four columns that all have the same type, precision, scale, and description as "add1". For each column, we specify it with its complete name, then we add the prefix and suffix parameters so that Andromeda can figure out what is going on.

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