Lists in ServiceNow can be equated strongly to tables in databases. For the most part, this would be an accurate comparison. Viewing a list, is viewing a representation of a subset of records within a table on ServiceNow's servers. The columns of that list correspond to fields within the table, and often fields which would show on the form (if configured to do so).
Each table in ServiceNow has a label (a friendly name), and a name. The label is defined in the table dictionary (something we'll discuss later in this chapter), and can contain spaces and other characters not allowed in the table's name. The name is often more difficult to remember, but more specific. The label "task" may refer to the base task table, problem tasks, catalog tasks, or a multitude or system or custom tables. However, the name sc_task makes it clear which table we're referring to (the catalog task table, in this case).