Configuring Siebel eBusiness Applications > Configuring Business Components >

About Fields

Fields are child objects of business components. They are the source of data for controls and list columns displayed on applets in the user interface. Typically fields represent:

• Information from a database column obtained through a column object definition. Columns can be from the base table, extension tables, and joined tables of the business component.
• A calculated value that is derived from the values in other fields, but not stored in the database. These fields are knows as calculated fields. For more information, see About Calculated Fields.

Figure 31 illustrates data from fields displayed in a form applet.

Figure 31.  Data from Fields Displayed in a Form Applet

Figure 32 illustrates data from fields displayed in a list applet.

Figure 32.  Fields Displayed in a List Applet

Figure 31 and Figure 32 show controls in a form applet and list columns in a list applet that obtain their data from fields in a business component. The Field property setting in a Control or List Column object definition specifies the field. The Business Component property in the applet specifies the business component. These property relationships are illustrated in Figure 33.

Figure 33.  Field Property Relationships

In field object definitions that are not calculated fields, the column and Join properties together specify the table and column from which the field's data is obtained. The Join property, if blank, indicates that the column is obtained from the business component's base table. If it is nonblank, the Join property identifies the join object definition that supplies data from an extension table or other joined table. Based on the Join property, the table supplying the field's data is identified. The Column property identifies the column to use within the specified table. These relationships are illustrated in Figure 34.

Figure 34.  Field Relationship Details

NOTE:  You should not map multiple fields to the same column in a table. This can lead to error messages when updating the data and can cause data integrity issues. The SQL query fails because it tries to access the same column twice in the same query. It can also lead to data loss for denormalized columns that reference the column.