Functions take one or more arguments and return either a character string or a numeric value. The resulting value of a function can, in turn, be used to perform string operations, numeric calculations, or used as arguments for another function.
Format
ABS (numexpr)
Description
The ABS (numexpr) function is a numeric value that returns the absolute value of the numeric expression provided. The absolute value is the positive value of the provided number.
Example
ABS (-100) returns 100
ABS (10-100) 90
ABS (NUM(ML_CREDIT$)) returns the absolute value of the numeric data contained in panel control ML_CREDIT
Format
ASC ( strexpr )
Description
The ASC (strexpr) function is a string value that returns a numeric value. The ASCII value of the character is returned specified by the string expression. Only the first character in the string is converted.
Example
ASC ("A") returns numeric value 65
ASC ("abc") returns numeric value 97
Format
CHR ( numexpr )
Description
The CHR function is a numeric value that returns a single-character string value containing the ASCII character whose decimal value is defined by numexpr.
Example
CHR (65) returns character "A"
CHR (33) returns character "!"
The following table illustrates the valid codes for the date and time mask.
Code
Source
Default
Long(L)
Short(S)
Zero(Z)
%W
Day of week
1-7
Monday-Sunday
Mon-Sun
01-07
%D
Day of month
1-31
Monday-Sunday
Mon-Sun
01-31
%M
Month in year
1-12
January-December
Jan-Dec
01-12
%Y
Year
1970-1999
1970-1999
1970-1999
70-99
%H
Hour
0-24
0-24
0-24
00-24
%J
Day in year
1-365
1-365
1-365
01-99
%m
0-59
0-59
0-59
00-59
%s
Second
0-59
0-59
0-59
00-59
%p
Am/Pm
am,pm
am,pm
am,pm
am,pm
A code followed by "l" (for example, %Wl) indicates a long text format, as indicated in the Long(l) column above. A code followed by "s" (for example, %Ws) indicates a short text format, as indicated in the Short(s) column. A code followed by "z" indicates the value is to be converted to a two-digit, zero-filled value, as indicated in the Zero(z) column.
Any other characters (for example, "/" or "-") in the date format mask are copied as is to the output. To output a %, you must use %%.
Note The mask must be enclosed in quotation marks. For example, DTE (0:"%Dl %Ml %D/%Y %Hz:%mz %p") uses the current date and time to output the following:
Monday May 31/2010 10:27 pm
Format
FPT ( numexpr )
Description
The FPT function is a numeric value that returns the fractional portion of the numeric value specified.
Example
FPT (1.345) returns .345
FPT (105.95) returns .95
FPT (NUM(ML_CREDIT$)) returns the fractional portion of the numeric value contained in the ML_CREDIT panel control
Format
INT ( numexpr )
Description
The INT function is a numeric value that returns the integer portion of the value specified. No rounding is performed on the value. The fractional part of the value is dropped.
Example
INT (3.23) returns 3
INT (-5.6) returns -5
INT (.9999) returns 0
INT (NUM(ML_CREDIT$)) returns the integer value of the data contained in the panel control ML_CREDIT
Format
JUL ( numexpr1, numexpr2, numexpr3 )
Description
The JUL function returns a numeric value and is used to convert a date from year, month, and day to a Julian date. Julian dates are useful for calculating the number of days separating two dates.
numexpr1 contains the numeric value of the year (if zero, the current year is used)
numexpr2 contains the numeric value of the month (if zero, the current month is used)
numexpr3 contains the numeric value of the day within the month (if zero, the current day is used)
Example
If the date stored in ML_DT$ contains the string "01/15/1998", the following expression:
JUL(NUM(ML_DT$(7,4)),NUM(ML_DT$(1,2)),NUM(ML_DT$(4,2))) returns the value 2450829
Format
LCS ( strexpr )
Description
The LCS function is a string value that returns a string composed of the original string with all uppercase alphabetic characters replaced with their corresponding lowercase value.
Example
LCS ("JOHN SMITH") returns "john smith"
LCS (ML_NAME$) returns the string value of panel control ML_NAME all in lowercase values
Format
LEN ( strexpr )
Description
The LEN function is a string value that returns the length of a string value. If the string provided is a null string (""), a length of zero is returned.
Example
LEN ("Hello") returns 5
LEN ("") returns 0
LEN ("A"+"BC") returns 3LEN (ML_NAME$) returns the length of the string value in panel control ML_NAME
Format
MAX ( numexpr1, numexpr2,& )
Description
The MAX function returns the maximum value of the numeric values or expression specified. There is no limit to the number of values or expressions.
numexpr1, numexpr2 are numeric values
Example
MAX (10, 5, 8) returns number 10
MAX (1000,NUM(ML_CREDIT$)) returns either 1000 or the numeric value of panel control ML_CREDIT, whichever is greater
Format
MID ( strexpr, numexpr1, numexpr2 )
Description
The MID function is a string value that returns a portion of a string. The returned value comprises the characters beginning at position numexpr1 in the string, extending for the number of characters specified by numexpr2. Unlike using substring references, the MID function does not produce an error if a value is specified that does not exist within the string.
numexpr1, numexpr2 are numeric values
Example
MID ("John Smith", 6, 5) returns "Smith"
MID ("John Smith", 1, 30) returns "John Smith"
MID ("John Smith", 30, 30) returns ""
Format
MIN ( numexpr1, numexpr2,& )
Description
The MIN function returns the minimum value of the numeric values or expression specified. There is no limit to the number of values or expressions. numexpr1, numexpr2 are numeric values.
Example
MIN (10, 5, 8) returns number 5
MIN (1000,NUM(ML_CREDIT$)) returns either 1000 or the numeric value of panel control ML_CREDIT, whichever is smaller
Format
MOD ( numexpr1, numexpr2 )
Description
The MOD function returns the remainder from a division of the first expression by the second. The number returned is always an integer value. numexpr1, numexpr2 are numeric values.
Example
MOD (10, 3) returns 1
MOD (10, 5) returns 0
MOD (9, 3.5) returns 2
Format
NUM ( strexpr )
Description
The NUM function is a string value that returns the numeric value of strexpr. If the string does not contain a valid numeric value, a 0 (zero) is returned.
The string expression can contain any combination of the characters 0-9, space, comma, equals sign, or dollar sign. One decimal point can be included along with one sign character (either "-" or "+").
Example
NUM ("123") returns 123
NUM ("-1,005.00") returns -1005
NUM ("ABC") returns 0
NUM (ML_CREDIT$) returns the numeric value of the data in the panel control ML_CREDIT
Because most variables are string variables, you must first convert them to a numeric value before performing a mathematical operation. The NUM function is available to convert the string variables to a numeric value.
The format of the NUM function is NUM(strvar$), where strvar$ is the string variable.
Example To multiply the commission amount in ML_COMMISSION by the commission rate in ML_COMM_RATE, use the following expression:
[NUM(ML_COMMISSION$) * NUM(ML_COMM_RATE$) * .01]
Note The .01 is used to multiply the resulting number because the rate is a percentage amount.
Although the data references are expected to return a text value, it is not necessary to reconvert numeric values back to string values using the STR function. If the resulting value is a number, the number is converted into a string form automatically.
Format
PAD ( strexpr1, numexpr1 [ ,numexpr2 [ ,strexpr2] ] )
Description
strexpr1 is a string value that returns a string value
numexpr1 is the desired length of the returned string
numexpr2 is an optional parameter that defines how to pad the string:
0 = pad on left (right justify)
1 = pad on right (left justify)
2 = center in stringThe first character of strexpr2 is used to pad the strexpr1 (if omitted, blanks are used).
The PAD function returns a character string of the length specified (numexpr1) by either truncating the strexpr or by appending the defined pad character (strexpr2); spaces are used if strexpr2 is omitted. If numexpr2 is omitted, the pad on right (left justify) option is used.
Example
PAD ("ABC",5) returns "ABC ", a 5-character string with two trailing spaces
PAD ("ABC",5,0) returns " ABC", a 5-character string with two leading spaces
PAD ("ABCDE",3) returns "ABC", a 3-character string
PAD ("ABC",5,"X") returns "ABCXX"
Format
PRC ( numexpr1, numexpr2 )
Description
numexpr1 is a numeric value to be rounded
numexpr2 is the precision at which to round the numeric value
The PRC function returns the rounded value of the numeric value supplied in numexpr1. The second parameter represents the desired precision at which to round. The precision determines the number of decimal places that will be returned. The precision must be in the range of 0 through 14.
Example
PRC (1.3456, 2) returns 1.35
PRC (1.3456, 3) returns 1.346
PRC (1.567, 0) returns 2
Format
STP ( strexpr, numexpr [,strexpr2] )
Description
strexpr is a string value that returns a string value.
numexpr is an optional numeric code value that defines how to strip the string (if omitted, trailing characters are stripped)
0 - strip leading characters
1 - strip trailing characters
2 - strip both leading and trailing
3 - strip all charactersstrexpr2 is the optional character to be stripped (if omitted, blanks are stripped)
The STP function returns a character string generated by stripping the first character of strexpr2 (spaces if omitted) from the value of strexpr1. The data is stripped from the front, the end, or from both the front and end of strexpr1, depending on the setting of numexpr.
Example
STP (" ABC",0) returns "ABC"
STP ("ABC ",1) returns "ABC"
STP ("**TEST**,2,"*") returns "TEST"
STP (" A B C ",3) returns "ABC"
Format
STR ( numexpr [:strexpr] )
Description
numexpr is a numeric value that returns a string value.
strexpr is the format mask to be used in the conversion process.
The STR function converts the numeric value (or expression) to a character string. A mask string can be used to specify the size and format of the resulting character string.
Example
STR (100) returns string "100"
STR (5 * 6) returns string "30"
STR (5 * 6:"0000") returns string "0030"
STR (NUM(ML_CREDIT$)*.1) returns a string value of the amount stored in panel control ML_CREDIT multiplied by 0.10
Format
STR ( strexpr1 : strexpr2 )
Description
strexpr1 is a string value.
strexpr2 is the format mask to be used in the conversion process.
This is a second form of the STR function to use on string values. The STR function converts the string value (or expression) based on the contents of a format mask. This function is particularly useful for formatting data such as phone numbers and Social Security numbers.
Example
STR ("cat" : "AAA") returns string "CAT"
STR ("MIKE" : "Aa(10)") returns "Mike "
STR ("1234567":"000-0000") returns "123-4567"
Format
UCS ( strexpr )
Description
strexpr is a string value that returns a string value. The UCS function returns a string composed of the original string with all lowercase alphabetic characters replaced with their corresponding uppercase value.
Example
UCS ("John Smith") returns "JOHN SMITH"
UCS (ML_NAME$) returns the string value of panel control ML_NAME all in uppercase