HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Naming Considerations
All names used in System Dictionary are handled exactly the same. This
subsection provides general information and rules for handling names
within System Dictionary.
Syntax
The syntax for all dictionary names is the same, with the exception of
entity naming, which is discussed in Chapter 3 under Special Entity
Naming. All names must be 32 characters, left justified, and right blank
filled. No blanks are allowed between characters, however. All
lowercase letters are upshifted. You may use all alphanumeric and
special characters in a name EXCEPT those in the table 2-1.
Table 2-1. System Dictionary Restricted Characters
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| . , ; : ! " ( ) < > ^ = |
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When you create or access an object, you can supply any combination of
upper or lowercase characters in the name, but System Dictionary always
upshifts the name. Thus orders, Orders, and ORDERS all refer to the same
object.
Name Sets
Each name in System Dictionary must be unique within its set of names.
The following sets of names exist in the dictionary:
* domain names
* version names within a domain
* entity type names
* relationship class names
* attribute names
* scope names
* entity occurrence names within a domain within an entity type
Each of the above sets is divided into two parts, internal names and
external names, which are described below. Each part is considered a set
of names.
Internal and External Names
Every dictionary definition, whether a structural component (for example,
entity type) or an entity occurrence, has both an internal name and an
external name associated with it. The internal name, which can never
change, is intended for use by software products used with the dictionary
that rely on given names for identification purposes. The external name,
which is fully customizable and localizable, is intended for end users or
those accessing the dictionary through a user interface facility.
This flexible scheme allows software developers to extend the structure
of the dictionary or add occurrences using internal names of a personal
nature (for example, ISV-RESOURCE entity type) that are less likely to
conflict with existing names. You can then use the external names to
make the extensions more friendly. For example, if a RESOURCE entity
type did not exist, then ISV-RESOURCE could be externally named RESOURCE.
System Dictionary requires only one name to create a definition in the
dictionary. You can use that name as both the internal and external name
provided that no conflict occurs with any existing names. For example,
an end user creates a domain MY-DOMAIN and adds it to the dictionary.
That name will become both the internal and external name. However, if
that name conflicts with an existing internal or existing external domain
name then the creation is not completed. The internal and external names
are considered to be part of different sets of names. The same name can
exist in both sets, but it must be unique within each set.
When opening the dictionary, you must specify whether you are using the
internal or external name set during the current dictionary session.
During that session, with the exception of creation operations where you
can supply one or two names, you can use only one name type.
NOTE In the future, Hewlett Packard will prefix all names of objects it
adds to the core set with "HP". To avoid potential name conflicts,
do not create any entity types, relationship types, relationship
classes, attributes, scopes, or domains, prefixed with "HP".