VariableDefinition object

A class describing the characteristics of a variable, property, or argument. VariableDefinition is used as a property in the ClassDefinition and ScriptDefinition objects. It has no events.

You cannot start with a variable in your application and get a VariableDefinition object for it. Instead, you access the VariableDefinition instances that are elements of the VariableList array of a ClassDefinition instance or the ArgumentList array of a ScriptDefinition instance.

The VariableDefinition object has information about:

The variable’s name and type
Whether the variable is a scalar or an array and information about the array
The variable’s initial value, whether the value overrides an ancestor’s value, and whether the variable is a constant
The read and write access levels for the variable
The scope of the variable (global, shared, instance, local, argument), including whether the variable is an argument and how the argument is passed

Properties

VariableDefinition property	Datatype	Description
CallingConvention	ArgCalling Convention	The way an argument is passed when Kind is VariableArgument! Values are: ByReferenceArgument! ByValueArgument! ReadOnlyArgument! VarListArgument! VarListArgument! applies only to arguments for built-in PowerBuilder functions. They are shown as ellipses in the Browser. For an example, see the ImportString function for DataWindow controls.
Cardinality	Variable Cardinality Definition	Cardinality information for the variable.
ClassDefinition	PowerObject	An object of type PowerObject containing information about the class definition of the object or control.
InitialValue	Any	The initial value of the variable. Not valid when Kind is VariableArgument!.
IsConstant	Boolean	Indicates whether the variable is a constant. Not valid when Kind is VariableArgument!.
IsControl	Boolean	Indicates whether the variable is a control defined as a nested class within its parent, rather than an instance variable with a control class as its datatype. Valid only when Kind is VariableInstance!.
IsUserDefined	Boolean	Indicates whether the variable is a user-defined variable, instead of a property or variable defined by PowerBuilder. Always true for local variables. True for arguments if the function was also user-defined.
Kind	VariableKind	The scope of the variable. Values are: VariableGlobal! VariableShared! VariableInstance! VariableArgument! VariableLocal! Global variables are found only in the Application object. Argument and local variables are found only in scripts.
Name	String	The name of the variable.
OverridesAncestor Value	Boolean	Indicates whether the current initial value overrides an ancestor’s initial value. Valid only when Kind is VariableInstance!
ReadAccess	VarAccess	The read access to the variable. Values are: Private! Public! Protected! System! Not valid when Kind is VariableArgument! or VariableLocal!
TypeInfo	TypeDefinition	Type information for the variable.
WriteAccess	VarAccess	The write access to the variable. Values are: Private! Public! Protected! System! Not valid for VariableArgument! or VariableLocal!

Functions

VariableDefinition function	Datatype returned	Description
ClassName	String	Returns the name assigned to the object
GetContextService	Integer	Creates a reference to a context-specific instance of the specified service
GetParent	PowerObject	Returns a reference to the name of the parent object
TypeOf	Object	Returns the type of the object