Terminology and Naming Conventions

The following terminology conventions are used throughout SBM documentation to discuss the following elements:

• Items: Generic term that encompasses both primary and auxiliary items, including issues, incidents, contacts, and problems. Reports are also referred to generically as items.

• Primary Items: Items like issues and incidents, which are stored in a Primary table and follow a workflow process.

• Auxiliary Items: Items like contacts, companies, and problems, which are stored in an Auxiliary table and do not follow a workflow process.

The following formatting and naming conventions are used throughout the SBM ModScript documentation for methods and functions:

• Throughout Programming SBM ModScript, most methods are described using the following format:

  • Description: A brief summary of the method.
  • Function signature: A code block with one or more signatures for each method. For example:

    

    Each function signature is composed of the following:

    1. Return – The data type returned by the method. In the signature above, the AppRecord.ReadWithWhere function returns bool. If there is no return, void is used at the beginning of the signature.
    2. Function name – The name of the function. The signature above shows the ReadWithWhere function.
    3. Parameters – The function parameters are enclosed in parenthesis; multiple parameters are separated by a comma.

       In the signature above, the ReadWithWhere function takes two parameters: whereClause and params. The second parameter, [Vector params], is an optional argument that returns a Vector of SQL bind parameters.

       • Optional parameters are enclosed in square brackets [ ].
       • When the type of the parameter is Variant, the type is omitted to simplify the signature.
       • Output parameters are identified using & notation. This indicates that the object must be created before being passed to the function.
  • Parameters: Lists the parameters, their respective data types, and a brief description.
  • Return: Provides the data type of the return and a brief description.
  • Technical Details: Denotes the version of SBM in which the method was first introduced or extended, if applicable.
  • Example: A code snippet that contains a valid example of the method.
  • Notes: Detailed usage notes, important considerations, and tips are provided in this section.

Operators are symbols such as +, =, ==, <, and >. They are used for copying and comparing objects, as well as math-related functions. The that way operators are invoked is handled differently than the way that functions are invoked.

The following format is used throughout the SBM ModScript documentation for operators:

TimeT& operator=( TimeT v )

Example:

var t1 = TimeT(); //Uses TimeT constructor
var t2 = TimeTNow(); //Gets current time
t1 = t2; // Uses = operator to copy t2 to t1

The operator = method for TimeT is invoked using the "=" symbol. The value to the left of the symbol is acted on; the value to the right is the parameter that is passed to the method. In the example, the return value is ignored, but it could have been used for stringing operators and functions together.