1. Table Design Guide
  2. Naming Tables

Naming Tables

Use these naming conventions when adding tables:

The name of a table can be a maximum of eight characters and should be formatted as Fxxxxyyy, where:

F = Data table.

xx (second and third digits) = the system code, such as:

  • 00 - Foundation

  • 01 - Address Book

  • 03 - Accounts Receivable

xx (fourth and fifth digits) = the group type, such as:

  • 01 - Master

  • 02 - Balance

  • 1X - Transaction

yyy (sixth through eighth digits) = object version, such as programs that perform similar functions but vary distinctly in specific processing.

LA through LZ = Logical file.

JA through JZ = Table join.

Columns must include a two-character prefix that is used to uniquely identify the table columns. The first character must be alphabetic, while the second character can be alphanumeric. You cannot assign special characters to table columns: for example, $, #, or @. The data item alias follows the two-character column prefix. Typically, the column prefix indicates the type of data included in the table; for example, the prefix of the columns in the Address Book Master (F0101) table begin with AB.

A table description can be no more than 60 characters. Ensure that the table description is the topic of the table. If the table description comes from IBM i, it should be the same name as the file that it represents, such as F0101 (Address Book Master) and F4101 (Item Master).