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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.

 

 ABS - Absolute Value 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

 

ASC - ASCII Function

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

 

 CHR - Character Conversion

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 "!"

 

 DTE - Date/Time Function

Format	DTE ( numexpr1 [,numexpr2] [:strexpr] )
Where	numexpr1 is a numeric value containing the Julian date to convert (if zero, the current date is used) that returns a string value   numexpr2 is an optional time value containing hours and fractions of hours past midnight (if not present, the current time is used) that returns a string value   strexpr is a string describing the format of the date to return (if no format is specified, the format of MM/DD/YY is used) that returns a string value
Description	The DTE function converts a date (and time) from Julian form to a string. The strexpr defines the format to return in which the various components of the date are represented by a percent sign (%) followed by a one- or two-letter code. The first letter indicates a source for the data (day, month, year, etc.); the second letter, if specified, indicates the string format.   To use the DTE function based on data from a panel control, you must first calculate the Julian date using the JUL function.

 

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	Minute	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

 

 FPT - Fractional Part Function

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

 

 INT - Integer Function

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

 

 JUL - Julian Function

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

 

 LCS - Lowercase Function

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

 

 LEN - Length Function

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 3 LEN (ML_NAME$) returns the length of the string value in panel control ML_NAME

 

 MAX - Maximum Value Function

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

 

 MID- Extract a Portion of a String

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 ""

 

 MIN - Minimum Value Function

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

 

 MOD - Modulo Function

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

 

 NUM Function

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.

 

 PAD Function

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 string The 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"

 

 PRC Function

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

 

 STP- Strip Function

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 characters strexpr2 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"

 

 STR - String Function (Convert Numeric)

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

 

 STR - String Function (Convert String)

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"

 

 UCS - Uppercase Function

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