About Block Types
There are two types of blocks, data and control.
- A data block is associated with data (table columns) within
a database. By default, the association between a data block and the database
allows operators to automatically query, update, insert, and delete rows within
a database.
Data blocks can be based on database tables, views, procedures, or transactional
triggers.
- A control block, in contrast, is not associated with the database,
and the items in a control block do not relate to table columns within a database.
All blocks are either single-record or multi-record blocks:
- A
single-record block displays one record at a time.
- A
multi-record block displays more
than one record at a time.
In addition, a data block can also be a master or detail block:
- A master block displays a master
record associated with detail records displayed in a detail block.
- A detail block displays detail
records associated with a master record displayed in master block.
When a block is in Enter-Query-Mode, its formula items are set to null (the
formula is not calculated), and if there a formula items in other blocks which
refer to items in the Enter-Query-Mode block, then the for purposes of the calculations,
the items in the Enter-Query-Mode block are considered to have null values.
Related topics
Creating a data block from a table
Creating a control block
About creating a master-detail relation
Block datasources