Overview

The type of a method or property determines the range of values that the method or property can take and its interface (or protocol). A type can be a primitive type, a class, or a JADE interface.

The primitive types are summarized in the following table.

Primitive Type	Description
Any	Represents any object reference or primitive value
Binary	Represents binary data
Boolean	Contains Boolean value true or false
Byte	A single byte unsigned value (8 bits)
Character	Any single ANSI or Unicode character
Date	Julian day number
Decimal	Number with specific decimal format
Integer	Signed 32-bit integer (whole number)
Integer64	Signed 64-bit integer (whole number)
MemoryAddress	Represents a memory address
Point	Represents x and y coordinates of a point
Real	Floating point number
String	Sequence of characters
StringUtf8	String encoded in the UTF-8 format
Time	Time since midnight (in milliseconds)
TimeStamp	Date and time that includes combined date and time values
TimeStampInterval	Represents the difference between two timestamp values

Primitive types have a defined null value, which can be tested for by using the null language identifier; for example:

if d = null then

You can associate methods with primitive types, but you cannot associate properties with primitive types.

Properties that are defined as primitive types represent a value. They do not represent a reference to an object.

With the exception of the Any primitive type, which can represent any object reference or primitive value, the value of the property is stored in the parent object record when you define a property that is a primitive type. (A property that is an object contains a reference to the object.)