To complete the preceding example, we must code the variable classes that are referred to with the VARDCL VARCLASS attributes. The variable class information must be defined if the conversion utility is to generate )INIT and )PROC section statements for variable translations and validations. (Variable validation tells you how to define translations and validity checks.)

The VARCLASS (variable class) tag defines a variable class. You include variable classes in the same source file as the dialog elements and variable list that refer to them. Additionally, you must code variable classes in the source file before the variable list and dialog element definitions. You do this by coding variable classes following the DOCTYPE statement or by coding this information in an external file and embedding the file following the DOCTYPE statement.

In addition to these required attributes, the VARCLASS tag has an optional MSG attribute. This attribute specifies the message to be displayed if the variable fails any defined validity checks and no message is defined for the XLATL or CHECKL tags. Messages tells you how to define messages.