math and default value

yes and to expand on the question further, does the same go for default values in an integer field in a table. is the value always 0 or only 0 if it has not been changed. do the calculations in a calculated field assume they are being done  in other words i cant do calculations on a field that hasnt had a value placed there byh some means.  sorry for the basic questions but this is pretty new and i havent been able to dig up the answers any place else.  thanks for all of your help.

lee

Hi Lee,
A couple of things to mention.
CALCULATED fields are just containers to temporarily hold the result of calculations based on actual data fields (it avoids data redundancy).  Look at the attached screenshot  - 'calcarea' is defined in the table 'lee' in MVD, but doesn't exist in SQLiteStudio (the raw data).  And because it doesn't actually exist, it will always get re-calculated when you next run your program.
Default values, on the other hand, are what you want the initial value of an actual data field to be and will either get saved as that default value or saved with an amended value (either by input or by calculation).  But in either case, the data IS actually saved. 
Therefore, if a field is saved with it's default value, what you see next time round is the SAVED value and NOT the re-set default value (even though they may happen to be one and the same).
Knowing your project a bit, I think I can see what lies behind your questions and I hope this has clarified rather than confused matters - LOL!
Derek.