Documentation

Tables and fields

Describe the records an app should store and understand the available field types.

A table defines the fields available on each record. Appaca creates tables from what you request in an app chat.

How a table gets created

  1. Describe one record

    Say what one row represents, such as one expense claim or one customer request.

  2. Name the fields

    Include each value you need and whether it is text, a number, a yes-or-no value, a list, or a fixed set of choices.

  3. Review the table

    Open Data, select the table, and confirm its columns before relying on it for live work.

The six field types

TypeUse it for
stringNames, labels, identifiers, text, email addresses, and dates
numberQuantities, amounts, and counts
booleanA true-or-false value
enumOne value from a fixed set
arrayA list of values
objectA structured group of values

There is no dedicated date field type. Tell Appaca which date format you want and use it consistently.

Getting the table you want

Be specific about the values you need:

Track expense claims. Each row is one claim with a description, an amount in dollars, the submitting employee’s email, a submitted date, a status of Draft, Submitted, Approved, or Rejected, and a flag for whether it has been reimbursed.

This makes the amount a number, the status a fixed set of choices, and reimbursed a yes-or-no value.

Changing fields later

Schema changes can add fields. Existing fields cannot be renamed, removed, or changed to another type. If a field is wrong, ask the app to add the correct field or create a new table.

Adding a field does not fill it on existing records. Decide what the new field should contain for older rows.

What a record looks like

The Data page shows your fields alongside ID, Created, and Updated. Appaca manages these three values automatically.