Global File Structure

Attribute Dictionary: Reading the Attribute Dictionary—Example

Figure 377 shows the ^DD nodes associated with the sample (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file:

Figure 377: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample ^DD Nodes

    ^DD(3,.01,0)="NAME^FR^^0;1^I X'?1A.AP1",".AP K X"
    ^DD(3,.01,.1)="EMPLOYEE NAME"
    ^DD(3,.01,1,0)="^.1^1^1"
    ^DD(3,.01,1,1,0)="3^B"
    ^DD(3,.01,1,1,1)="S ^EMP("B",$E(X,1,30),DA)="""
    ^DD(3,.01,1,1,2)="K ^EMP("B",$E(X,1,30),DA)"
    ^DD(3,.01,3)="NAME MUST BE 3-30 CHARACTERS, IN THE FORMAT LAST,FIRST"
    ^DD(3,1,0)="SEX^RS^M:MALE;F:FEMALE^0;2^Q"
    ^DD(3,2,0)="DOB^D^^0;3^S %DT="EX" D ^%DT S X=Y I X<1400000 K X"
    ^DD(3,2,.1)="DATE OF BIRTH"
    ^DD(3,3,0)="DEPARTMENT^P13'^DIZ(13,^0;4^Q"

Their meaning can be translated to:

• The first field is NAME (full title: EMPLOYEE NAME). It is FREE TEXT data that must start with at least one alpha character followed by other alpha and punctuation characters and contains a comma. It is always required from the user and is stored in subscript 0, ^-piece 1 of each employee's entry. If the user types a question (?) when asked for the NAME, the user sees:

  Figure 378: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample Translated Meaning

      NAME MUST BE 3-30 CHARACTERS, IN THE FORMAT LAST,FIRST

  The (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file is cross-referenced by NAME, so every time a name is changed, the corresponding subscript under (fictitious) ^EMP("B") is also changed. DA is always the internal number of the employee when the cross-referencing code is executed.

  If a second cross-reference for NAME existed (for example, a trigger), it would be descendent from:

  Figure 379: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample DD Descendent Cross-references

      ^DD(3,.01,1,2

• The second field is SEX. It is stored as either M or F in the second ^-piece position of subscript 0 of each (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file entry. The user is required to respond and can type MALE instead of M, and FEMALE instead of F. The user sees the two choices displayed if a ? is typed when asked for SEX.
• The third field is DOB (full title: DATE OF BIRTH). It is not required. If entered, it must be in the format of a date after 1840. It is stored in the third ^-piece of subscript 0 of the (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file entry.
• The fourth field is DEPARTMENT; it is not required. It is a POINTER to file number 13 and adding new entries (LAYGO) to the (fictitious) DEPARTMENT file from the (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file is not allowed as indicated by the apostrophe (') after the number 13. It is stored in the fourth ^-piece of subscript Zero of the (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file entry. The internal value of the Employee's department in the (fictitious) DEPARTMENT file is stored in this location. The data of the (fictitious) DEPARTMENT file can be found in ^DIZ(13,.

  Suppose there is also a Multiple-valued field, SKILL. A Multiple-valued field is described by a separate data dictionary. VA FileMan creates this new data dictionary descendent from a non-integer subscript of ^DD. In the case of the (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file described by ^DD(3), it would store subsidiary data dictionaries in ^DD(3.01), ^DD(3.02), etc. The subsidiary data dictionary for the Multiple-valued SKILL field could look like this:

  Figure 380: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample Subsidiary Data Dictionary

      ^DD(3.01,0)="SKILL subfield^^1^2"
      ^DD(3.01,.01,0)="SKILL^MF^^0;1^K:$L(X)>30!($L(X)<3) X"
      ^DD(3.01,.01,3)="ANSWER MUST BE FROM 3 TO 30 CHARACTERS IN LENGTH"

  The only new element here is the M in the second ^-piece of ^DD(3.01,.01,0). This is the flag corresponding to the YES answer to the question:

  Figure 381: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample Auxiliary User Prompts

      HAVING ENTERED OR EDITED ONE SKILL, SHOULD USER BE ASKED ANOTHER?

  If you answer YES to this question, each time the user enters data, the "Select SKILL:" prompt is repeated until the user enters a NULL response. There is also an entry corresponding to SKILL in the principal (fictitious) EMPLOYEE file's data dictionary as follows:

  Figure 382: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Updated Data Dictionary for New Data

      ^DD(3,4,0)="SKILL^3.01A^^SX;0"

  The 3.01 points to the subsidiary data dictionary of that number; it says that, to find the data descriptors of SKILL (and all fields pertaining to SKILL), you must look in ^DD(3.01). The A indicates that every time the user enters a new SKILL, it is automatically added to the file and the user is not asked:

  Figure 383: Attribute Dictionary—Reading the Attribute Dictionary: Sample User Prompt Confirming Data Entry

      ARE YOU ADDING A NEW SKILL?

  The SX;0 in the fourth ^-piece tells us the entire SKILL Subfile is stored descendent from the SX subscript in each employee's record.

Reviewed/Updated: May 2026