Re: Set field length in SQL View

On 17 Sep 2013 08:47, Jeff Young wrote:

I have an SQL VIEW where I am selecting only part of a character
field using the SUBSTR function in a CTE, then using the derived
field in a Group By for the final select.
Part of the code is:
SubStr( COALESCE(A.UDFBVALUE,' '), 1, 10) as SCHEDB

My problem is that when I look at the file definition, the field
SCHEDB is defined as :
Data Field Buffer
Field Type Length Length
SCHEDB CHAR 40 42

What do I need to do to get this field defined as CHAR 10?

With the described effect, there would appear to be a defect with the typing of that column. The effect of CHAR shown as the resultant data type, seems to imply that the UDFBVALUE is either VARCHAR or CHAR; i.e. the column SCHEDB should not indicate "Variable length field".

According to the SUBSTR scalar function documentation, the effect of that expression should be a fixed-length vs a varying length character (VARCHAR):

"Data Type of the Result for SUBSTR" is "CHAR, if: length is explicitly specified by an integer constant that is greater than zero."

While the type can be explicitly cast using CHAR casting function or the CAST function, the literal value integer ten as the length-argument specification of the SUBSTR scalar function, the type should implicitly be CHAR(10).