Table Creation
Tables store data in a row and column format, similar to a spreadsheet. Each row represents a record, and each column represents the fields in each record. Tables in Visual FoxPro can exist as a free table or as a database table.
A free table is a table (.dbf) file that is not associated with any database. A database table is a table file that is associated with a database. Database tables can have properties that free tables do not have, such as field-level and record-level rules, triggers, and persistent relationships. The following list includes some of the benefits database tables offer:
Long names for the table and for each field in the table.
Captions and comments for each table field.
Default values, input masks, and format for table fields.
Default control class for table fields.
Field-level and record-level rules.
Primary key indexes and table relationships to support referential integrity rules.
One trigger for each INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE event.
However, free tables are useful for storing information outside of a database. For example, for example, you can use free tables to store lookup information that multiple databases share. For more information about the benefits of associating tables with a database, see Databases in Visual FoxPro.
To view a sample table, open one of the table (.dbf) files for the Northwind database located in the Visual FoxPro ...\Samples\Northwind directory. For more information, see How to: View Records in Tables.
Considerations for Table Creation
When creating tables, remember the following considerations:
Make sure field's data type matches the type of information you want to store.
Make sure the field is wide enough to accommodate the information it stores and displays.
Set an appropriate number of decimal places for Numeric or Float fields.
Make sure that fields that can accept null values are configured to accept them.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Create Database Tables