diff --git a/src/qgsfield.cpp b/src/qgsfield.cpp
index 7eba4d0208b..8adcb17f759 100644
--- a/src/qgsfield.cpp
+++ b/src/qgsfield.cpp
@@ -12,11 +12,18 @@
  *   (at your option) any later version.                                   *
  *                                                                         *
  ***************************************************************************/
-/* $Id$ */
-#include <qstring.h>
+
 #include "qgsfield.h"
 
-QgsField::QgsField(QString nam, QString typ, int len, int prec):mName(nam), mType(typ), mLength(len), mPrecision(prec)
+#include <qstring.h>
+
+
+static const char * const ident_ = 
+   "$Id$";
+
+
+QgsField::QgsField(QString nam, QString typ, int len, int prec)
+    :mName(nam), mType(typ), mLength(len), mPrecision(prec)
 {
   // lower case the field name since some stores use upper case 
   // (eg. shapefiles)
@@ -26,32 +33,33 @@ QgsField::QgsField(QString nam, QString typ, int len, int prec):mName(nam), mTyp
 QgsField::~QgsField()
 {
 }
-QString QgsField::name()
+
+QString const & QgsField::name() const
 {
   return mName;
 }
 
-QString QgsField::type()
+QString const & QgsField::type() const
 {
   return mType;
 }
 
-int QgsField::length()
+int QgsField::length() const
 {
   return mLength;
 }
 
-int QgsField::precision()
+int QgsField::precision() const
 {
   return mPrecision;
 }
 
-void QgsField::setName(QString nam)
+void QgsField::setName(QString const & nam)
 {
   mName = nam;
 }
 
-void QgsField::setType(QString typ)
+void QgsField::setType(QString const & typ)
 {
   mType = typ;
 }
diff --git a/src/qgsfield.h b/src/qgsfield.h
index 5ad47bd8cec..bb0af3157b8 100644
--- a/src/qgsfield.h
+++ b/src/qgsfield.h
@@ -27,8 +27,9 @@ email                : sherman at mrcc.com
   length, and if applicable, precision.
  */
 
-class QgsField{
-  public:
+class QgsField
+{
+public:
     /** Constructor. Constructs a new QgsField object.
      * @param nam Field name
      * @param typ Field type (eg. char, varchar, text, int, serial, double). 
@@ -38,57 +39,76 @@ class QgsField{
      * @param prec Field precision. Usually decimal places but may also be
      * used in conjunction with other fields types (eg. variable character fields)
      */
-    QgsField(QString nam=0, QString typ=0, int len=0, int prec=0);
-    //! Destructor
-    ~QgsField();
-    //! Gets the name of the field
-    QString name();
+  QgsField(QString nam = "", QString typ = "", int len = 0, int prec = 0);
+
+  //! Destructor
+   ~QgsField();
+
+  //! Gets the name of the field
+  QString const & name() const;
+
+
     /** 
       Gets the field type. Field types vary depending on the data source. Examples
       are char, int, double, blob, geometry, etc. The type is stored exactly as
       the data store reports it, with no attenpt to standardize the value.
       @return QString containing the field type
      */
-    QString type();
+  QString const & type() const;
+
+
     /**
       Gets the length of the field.
       @return int containing the length of the field
      */
-    int length();
+  int length() const;
+
+
     /**
       Gets the precision of the field. Not all field types have a related precision.
       @return int containing the precision or zero if not applicable to the field type.
      */
-    int precision();
+  int precision() const;
+
+
     /**
       Set the field name.
       @param nam Name of the field
      */
-    void setName(QString nam);
+  void setName(QString const & nam);
+
     /**
       Set the field type.
       @param typ Field type
      */
-    void setType(QString typ);
+  void setType(QString const & typ);
+
     /**
       Set the field length.
       @param len Length of the field
      */
-    void setLength(int len);
+  void setLength(int len);
+
     /**
       Set the field precision.
       @param prec Precision of the field
      */
-    void setPrecision(int prec);
-  private:
-    //! Name
-    QString mName;
-    //! Type
-    QString mType;
-    //! Length
-    int mLength;
-    //! Precision
-    int mPrecision;
-};
+  void setPrecision(int prec);
+
+private:
+
+  //! Name
+  QString mName;
+
+  //! Type
+  QString mType;
+
+  //! Length
+  int mLength;
+
+  //! Precision
+  int mPrecision;
+
+}; // class QgsField
 
 #endif