A scalar is the value stored for an attribute of a folder. For example, the folder for a site contains scalars for site name, parent site, depth, status, site type, and detailed status. The folder for a specific site would have a specific value for each scalar. For example, the folder for the TIM site could contain the string "Tim World" for site name.
In addition to a value, each scalar also contains a name, a data type, and an access mode.
The set of scalars that a folder can contain is determined by the type of the folder. Except for group folders, the set of scalars for all folder types is predetermined by the SMS API. For example, all site folders always contain the same set of scalars; however, the values for those scalars will differ between each instance of a site folder.
Group folders contain scalars that represent attributes for an inventoried item. However, there is no defined set of scalars for group folders in general. The set of scalars within a group folder depends on its group class. The set of scalars within a group folder are also dependent on the instance of the group—all attributes defined for the group may not have been included by the MIF that reported the inventory. Indeed, different instances of the same group may contain completely different sets of attributes. Your application can retrieve the list of scalars within a folder by using the SmsGetNextScalar function to retrieve each scalar sequentially.
For more information about accessing containers, folders, and scalars, see General Steps for Using the SMS API to Manage SMS Objects.
Note that scalars can also read from persistent filters. Scalars can be set on machine filters that will be committed to the site database as persistent filters in a filter container.
For more information about handling persistent filters, see General Steps for Using the SMS API to Manage Queries.