Approval For vs. Approving fields

[bradfournier]

Can anyone explain the reason for the 'Approval For' and 'Approving' fields on the Approval record?

I know that one is a document_id field and one is a reference field to the task table, but I'm having a little trouble understanding the need for both. It seems like only the document_id field is necessary, as the reference field is left blank when the approval is for a non-task. I can't seem to find any business rules or scripts that are populating those fields so I'm guessing it's something that's happening in the background. 

Any information is appreciated!

Thanks,
Brad

[SanjivMeher]

There are tables which mayn't be extended from Task table, where you may need approval to be associated. In such cases, Approving field gets populated, while incase of task table Approval For field is populated.

Approval For can be utilized to generate reports, because you can extend the reference fields in reports and get additional fields of task.