Table Field Definitions

Table Field Definitions

N. A Sequential number. No real significance.
Category. The main category of the source.
Category Type. The category type of the source.
Type. A subtype.
Description. A description.
The above four fields (perhaps with better nomenclature) would be an ideal set to "drill down" through in a computer program when selecting a source type to define or cite. The program, of course, needs to allow the end user to define new fields of their choice, and not be locked in to a fixed set some vendor or programmer would define.
Type.
- L. List or Bibliographic style. This is the style to use in Bibliographies.
- F. Full or full footnote or endnote style. This is the style to use in reports the first time a particular reference is cited.
- S. Short footnote or endnote style for subsequent citations of a reference.
Identifier. An identifier. Currently the page number in Evidence Explained (ESMnnn).
LDEL. Left Delimiter. Actually the string to precede the "Field".
Fields. The "Field" variable. Variables are enclosed in square brackets and must be all upper case. They may contain numbers and punctuation. Requiring them to be upper case allows text such as [sic] to appear as simple text, but [SIC] is a variable that the code should prompt for a value.
RDEL. Right Delimiter. Actually the string to follow the "Field".
Attribute. Currently: Italic or Quoted. The Attribute to apply to "Field".
Privacy. A flag that when "off" prevents printing of "Field" and its surrounding punctuation. When the flag is "on" the field and its punctuation will appear in the output.
Optional. A flag that indicates "Field" is optional. That is, if a value for "Field" is not supplied, the "Field" and its punctuation will not appear in the output. Judicious use of this along with clever programming can make fields "required" or "optional" upon input.