The record type is a data type that you use to treat several different pieces of data as one unit, for example, name and phone number. Each of these units is called a variable of record type. Each piece of data is called an attribute. An attribute can be a simple data type, another record type, or an array. A data value or a variable for the record type is called a record.

To define a record type in ABF or Vision, list its attributes. Record types defined in ABF or Vision can be local or global in scope.

To define a record type in 4GL, declare it to be the type of an existing form, table field, or table, or of an ABF-declared record type. Record types defined in 4GL are local in scope.

After you define a record type, you can declare a variable as that record type. This is a record variable. (See Variables above.) A record variable is declared and used the same way you declare variables of simple Ingres data types, such as integer or char.

You can use a record type to create any number of variables with the same attributes. You can also use the record type to define an array.