Defining a Zim class in the Object Dictionary

To build a Zim class, follow this process:

• Open the Documents window from the Objects, Documents menu in the Development Centre.

• Create a document as normal, but set the Document Type as 'Class'. Please note pre-Aria Zim 2.1 or Zim 5.7 need to select ’ZOF Class’.

• Click the 'Fields' button to open the Fields window.

• Entering class attributes is the same as creating fields for a structured document.

• Once completed, exit from the Fields window and the Zim Class is created.

• This process creates the structure (know as a 'form ent' in the object repository). For Example, the class zCustomer creates a structure aCustomer with fields name, address and phone (e.g. aCustomer.Name). A skeleton source file is generated when the class is created.

Inheriting Attributes

To inherit attributes from an object in the Object Dictionary, follow this process:

• Create a class attribute with the name '_IncludeOtherAttrs'.

• In the default field, list all classes/zim objects (entity sets, data relationships, forms) the structure should inherit from. Each class/object is to be separated by a comma.