An overview of tables
There is a distinction between the table (data definition and data container) and the data (the contents of a table). The table definition describes the identification information, data structure, validation rules, storage, and retrieval of the data that is stored in the table (container). This definition is defined by its design and can only be changed by a developer. The table data is the variable content that originates from user activities. The place where we can see the data being explicitly referenced, independent of the table as a definition of structure, is in Permission Sets. In the following screenshot, the data is formally referred to as Table Data:
Figure 2.1 – Permission Set showing Table Data Object Type
The table is not the data – it is the definition of data contained in the table. Even so, we commonly refer to both the data and the table as if they were the same. That is what we will do in this book...
