Class Definitions

A class definition defines a class. A class definition consists of class members (such as properties and methods) and other items, called keywords, each with associated values, that specify details of the class behavior.

Class definitions reside in a database where they are stored in the class dictionary. A class definition can be compiled, a process which creates executable code that can create object instances based on the class definition. The source code for the executable code created for a class consists of one or more routines. These generated routines can also be viewed in Studio.

A class definition can be projected for use by other technologies. In the case of SQL, this projection is automatic. In the case of Java, there is an additional compilation step in which a Java class is generated that corresponds to the class definition. For details, see Adding Class Projections.

Within Studio, class definitions can be displayed and edited in a Class Editor window. Class definitions can also be viewed in the Class Inspector window as keywords and their corresponding values in tables.