field() ?

[eluser]solid9[/eluser]
hi guys,

I found this codes somewhere,

Code:

<?php
   $name = @field($this->validation->name, $department->name);
    echo form_input(array(
        'name' => 'name',
        'id' => 'name',
       'size' => '20',
        'maxlength' => '50',
        'value' => $name,
    ));
?>

Now what is is this field()? is this a PHP function or CodeIgniter function?
Where is this exactly in the manual?

Thanks in advanced.