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SELECT - sql_exp

Short Reference

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Syntax

... sql_elem 
  | sql_arith 

  | sql_arith_func 
  | sql_cast 

  | sql_string 
  | sql_coalesce 

  | sql_case  ... 

Effect

SQL expressions are expressions that can be specified in the following positions of Open SQL statements.

• As columns specified in the SELECT list
• As an argument of aggregate expressions in the SELECT list and in the HAVING clause
• As a grouping criterion after GROUP BY
  

SQL expressions are passed to the database system, executed there, and the result is passed to the application server if necessary. The possible operands are:

• Suitable columns col of database tables or views. The valid data types are specified in the expressions themselves.
• Host variables or literals dobj (which cannot have the type string or xstring. Host variables must be prefixed with the escape character @. Literals are handled strictly according to type. This means that string literals are not allowed and only text field literals of the type c can be used as character literals. Empty text field literals cannot be specified. The value of a numeric literal must be in the value range of type i, which means it always has type i.
• SQL expressions whose results can be used in accordance with their data type. Expressions cannot be specified in all operand positions.
  

The SQL expression can be used for

• assignments of columns, host variables, or literals
• arithmetic calculations
• calls of arithmetic functions
• type modifications
• chainings of character strings
• replacing null values
• case distinctions
  

Every expression can be enclosed in parentheses. The result of an expression is used in the Open-SQL statement in accordance with the operand position, with the data type in nested expressions being specified by the outermost expression.

Notes

• SQL expressions cannot be used in obsolete non-Unicode programs and not if the program attribute fixed point arithmetic is switched off.
• Host variables as operands of expressions are evaluated before the SELECT statement is sent to the database system. Specifying a host variable from the SELECT list after INTO in a SELECT loop does not mean that a different value is used in each loop pass.
• No aggregate expressions as operands of SQL expressions can currently be specified. SQL expressions can, however, be arguments of aggregate functions.
• When SQL expressions are used, the syntax check is performed in a strict mode, which handles the statement more strictly than the regular syntax check.
• SQL expressions cannot currently be used together with the addition FOR ALL ENTRIES.
• If SQL expressions are specified together with aggregate expressions or with the addition GROUP BY, the syntax check is performed in a strict mode, which handles the statement more strictly than the regular syntax check.
  

Continue

sql_exp - sql_elem

sql_exp - sql_arith

sql_exp - sql_arith_func

sql_exp - sql_cast

sql_exp - sql_string

sql_exp - sql_coalesce

sql_exp - sql_case

sql_exp - ( )

Examples of SQL Expressions