Field Types

The field type tells IMan how to treat the data in a field.

IMan uses dynamic, or weak, data typing. It infers a field's data type from the context in which the field is used.

See the Transform documentation for type handling information.

A wrongly typed field gives wrong results

Set each field's data type correctly. A wrong type can give wrong results.

A field with no value

A field has no value when its source had none, such as a database NULL or a blank. IMan does not store an empty value. A blank and a missing value are therefore the same thing. SetFieldNull also leaves a field with no value.

Reading a field with no value still gives a value. A %Field reference and GetValue both return the default value for the field's type. Each type below gives its default. A field reference is never Null or Empty.

A value alone cannot tell a Decimal field with no value from one that holds 0. IsFieldNull can. See A field with no value in the VBScript reference.

Field Types recognised by IMan

Text

Any textual data

Default Value - “” (empty string)

Integer

Any whole numbers

Default Value - 0

Decimal

Whole and decimal numbers

Default Value - 0.0

Boolean

Values that can be evaluated to true or false.

Default Value - False

Date

Date and time values.

Default Value - 30 December 1899 at midnight, VBScript's zero date. As text it shows only the time: 00:00:00, or 12:00:00 AM on a server with US regional settings.

Binary

Any binary data.

Default Value - “” (empty string)