DECODE?

[MicahDB]

I'm new to PL/SQL, so bear with me. I'm wanting to use the decode function in the following manner:

DECODE(ORD.NOTE,'Order exported%','TRUE','FALSE') AS ORDER_NOTE

I'm obviously looking for anything with the ORD.NOTE field starting with "Order exported". But right now I'm getting back everything listed as FALSE. When I put the entire field value in the decode statement (Order exported: 08012004) it does define those fields as true. So when I'm using the decode function, A) can I use a wildcard like this and B) do I have to use a like statement or something along those lines.

Thanks much,
MicahDB

 

[SantaMufasa]

Micah,

First item: DECODE is a function that is available only within a SQL statement. If you truly mean PL/SQL, you cannot use DECODE...you must use either "IF...ELSIF...END IF" syntax or (in Oracle9) "CASE WHEN..." syntax.

Second, the "%" (wildcard) character performs only in conjunction with the "LIKE" operator.

Third, to resolve your need, you can use the following workaround:

DECODE(substr(ORD.NOTE,1,14),'Order exported','TRUE','FALSE') AS ORDER_NOTE

Let us know if this resolves your need.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA @ 18:53 (23Aug04) UTC (aka "GMT" and "Zulu"), 11:53 (23Aug04) Mountain Time)

 

[MicahDB]

Hmmmm, looks like that worked. Thanks for the clarification...

MicahDB