26 SAP ABAP H ANDBOOK THE CLIENT-DEPENDENCY FEATURE The SAP R/3 system provides an important feature called client-dependency, which means that a change made by a client in the SAP system is reflected on the other client. Let's take an example of R/3 database tables to illustrate this. Some tables in the SAP R/3 system are client-dependent, while others are client- independent. A client-dependent table has its first field or column of the CLNT type. The length of this field is always of three characters, and by convention, this field is always named MANDT and contains the client number as its content. A client-independent table, on the other hand, does not have the CLNT type as its first field. Now, if any data is updated in the rows of a client-independent table, the change is not reflected on the other clients of the SAP R/3 system. The client-dependency feature can also be explained in terms of SAPscript forms and Smart Forms. An SAP script form is a template that simplifies the designing of business forms. On the other hand, SAP Smart Forms is a tool used to print or send business forms through e-mail, the Internet, and faxing. In the SAP R/3 system, SAPscript forms are client-dependent, while the SAP Smart Forms are not.