Uploaded August 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Jim Berry

The field api suggests it provides for features like field reuse, but certain implementation details thwart this effort.

Based on evidence from existing code in core and contributed modules, most practitioners rarely (or never) take advantage of field reuse. this results in a proliferation of field tables in the database to support the myriad of one-use fields.

With minor changes the field api can make good on reuse as a design goal.

Learn how to:

reuse fields in the manner "intended" by the field api

eliminate the great majority of field tables from your database

retain readability of custom code that references fields