Designing: Defining Project Constants

Defining Project Constants

Figure 4 Constant or Variable Icon

Project constants are name-value pairs that are visible across the Project. Using a constant allows you to define the value once, and then refer to it from the various Project configurations, rather than having to redefine the value everywhere it is needed. For example, the following figure shows a standard currency defined to be used globally throughout the system.

You can add a constant to a Project by selecting the New > Variable or Constant option from the Project context menu in the NetBeans IDE, which displays the following dialog box.

Figure 5 Creating a Project Constant

Screen capture showing the Project Constant creation dialog box.

Project Constant Options

Property	Option	Description/Usage
Name		Your name for the Project constant.
Category		You may assign a category name, if desired.
Description		Your description for the constant.
Is a Constant		Select to enable the constant properties fields.
Value Type	String	Allows the string value to be displayed explicitly.
	Password	Encrypts the value, displaying asterisks (*) in the field.
Value		The value for the constant.

Constants and variables are automatically added to a Variables and Constants object group within the Project, as shown in the following figure. Selecting an entry in the upper panel displays it in the lower panel, where you can modify it. By clicking OK you overwrite the previous definition with the modified version.

Figure 6 Variables and Constants Object Group

Screen capture showing the Variables and Constants Object Group user interface.

Constants and Variables Object Group Icons

Icon	Name	Function
	Add a New Constant or Variable	Adds a new constant to the list.
	Delete a Highlighted Constant or Variable	Deletes the selected constant from the list.

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Designing: Defining Project Constants