The ABL Annotation content builder extracts ABL annotations from source files. The content builder searches for the "at" symbol ( @ ) at the beginning of a line. When it finds the symbol, it parses the line as an annotation. The content builder first ensures that the catalog database contains the necessary records to specify the source file (catalog, root path, project, project relative path, and resource). It then records the following data in the catalog database:
| Data | Value |
|---|---|
| Content type | ANNOTATION |
| Entry type | ANNOTATION |
| Entry | The annotation name |
| Attributes | ATTRIBUTES |
| Attribute | The attribute name |
| Attribute value | The attribute's value |
The content builder assigns IDs to each unique Entry and Attribute. It also stores the location of these elements in the file, either as a line number or as characters from the file's beginning.
For example, the following annotation was created from one of the templates in the Annotation Generator:
@program (name = "inventory.p", module = "warehouse").
When the content builder analyzes this statement, it adds the following information to the database:
| Data | Value |
|---|---|
| Content type | Annotation |
| Entry type | Annotation |
| Entry | program |
| Attributes | Attributes |
| Attribute | name |
| Attribute value | inventory.p |
| Attribute | module |
| Attribute value | warehouse |
In the Meta Catalog Explorer, you would see the following structure: