• SQL Events
• *like Function
• *sql_where Function
• a5_ADO_ResolveConnectionString Function
• a5_alphadao_export Function
• a5_alphadao_import Function
• a5_alphadao_search Function
• a5_alphadaoexportgenie Function
• a5_alphadaoimportgenie Function
• a5_arguments_sqllist Function
• A5_BatchPassiveLinkCreate Function
• a5_changealias_insql Function
• a5_complete_import_task Function
• a5_connectionpropstostring Function
• A5_CONNECTIONSTRING Function
• a5_connstrings_list Function
• a5_convert_delete_to_sql_delete Function
• a5_convert_deletedups_to_sql Function
• a5_convert_update_to_sql_update Function
• A5_CreateLayoutFromDataSource Function
• A5_CreatePassiveLinkTable Function
• a5_createsql_layout Function
• a5_createtable_sql_import Function
• a5_csweb_syntaxnamefromado Function
• a5_databaseexplorer Function
• a5_defineconnectionstring Function
• A5_ExcelConnString Function
• a5_exportconnectionstrings Function
• a5_getalphasqlfunction Function
• a5_getnamedconnectionstring Function
• a5_getnamedsqldatasource Function
• a5_getprimarykeysfromdaosearchresult Function
• a5_getreportsqlfilter Function
• a5_getreportsqlorder Function
• a5_getsavedadoconn_string Function
• a5_importconnectionstrings Function
• A5_ImportTablesDialog Function
• a5_invertsqlorder Function
• a5_list_tables_with_types Function
• a5_lookupsavedconnectionstring Function
• A5_MDBConString Function
• a5_mergeDataIntoTemplate Function
• a5_mergesqlarguments Function
• a5_namedconnectioncreate Function
• a5_odbc_connection Function
• a5_odbc_import_genie Function
• a5_paradoxconnstring Function
• A5_PassiveLinkTableDefine Function
• a5_preview_datasource Function
• A5_RefreshPassiveLinkTable Function
• A5_RefreshPassiveLinkTableDialog Function
• a5_sql_addcolumnstoselect Function
• a5_sql_addfilterorder Function
• a5_sql_arguments_dump Function
• a5_sql_arguments_load Function
• A5_SQL_BatchImportTables Function
• a5_sql_builder_simple Function
• a5_sql_cache_datafilename Function
• a5_sql_commandwindow Function
• a5_sql_droptables Function
• a5_sql_extractorder Function
• a5_sql_generate_select2 Function
• A5_SQL_ImportDataSource Function
• a5_sql_parsewhereclause Function
• a5_sql_parsewhereclause_datatypes Function
• a5_sql_query_genie Function
• A5_SQL_QuerySaveAs Function
• a5_sql_record_content_get Function
• a5_sql_record_xbase_content_get Function
• a5_sql_removeorder Function
• a5_sql_table_selector Function
• a5_sqlconnectionstring_unhidepassword Function
• a5_sqlexpressionbuilder Function
• a5_sqlimport_execute Function
• A5_SQLResultSetPreview Function
• a5_sqlToJSONExpandingMenu Function
• a5cs_decomposeaggregateexpression Function
• a5cs_generatenativefilter Function
• a5cs_generatenativeorder Function
• a5cs_getfunctionsinsqlexpression Function
• a5cs_getprimarykeycolumns Function
• a5cs_sql_add_filter_order Function
• a5cs_validateexpression Function
• a5gridhelper_dumpargumentstohtml Function
• a5Helper_findRecordInSQLTable Function
• a5SQLConnectionOpen Function
• a5wcb_exportstaticdatatosql Function
• argval Function
• cn_open Function
• combine_sql_arguments Function
• create_table_sql Function
• DataTransformExpression Example
• Portability Functions
• replace_arguments_in_string Function
• replace_placeholders_with_argument_values Function
• showresultset Function
• sql_argumentsdialog Function
• sql_avg Function
• sql_cacheapplyupdates Function
• sql_cacheevents Function
• sql_cachefetchpage Function
• sql_cachefetchpageeventscript Function
• sql_cacheopen Function
• sql_cacherefresh Function
• sql_cacherefreshinsertedrow Function
• sql_cacherefreshrow Function
• sql_childrelationsadded Function
• sql_childrelationsclear Function
• sql_childrelationspopulate Function
• SQL_ConnectionStringDialog Function
• SQL_ConnectString Function
• sql_count Function
• SQL_DatabaseExportDialog Function
• SQL_DATE Function
• sql_delete Function
• Sql_get_Values Function
• sql_import Function
• sql_insert Function
• SQL_InstallOracleLiteFunctions Function
• sql_linkcreate Function
• sql_listoptionsdialog Function
• SQL_Lookup Function
• SQL_lookup_multi Function
• sql_max Function
• sql_min Function
• sql_namedinstanceget Function
• sql_nameinstancegetsimple Function
• sql_primarykeydialog Function
• sql_query Function
• SQL_QUERY_BUILDER Function
• SQL_QueryImport Function
• sql_queryrenamewhereclausearrayoperators2 Function
• sql_quote Function
• SQL_Records_Get Function
• SQL_ResultSet_Preview Function
• sql_safeexecute Function
• sql_sum Function
• SQL_TableExport Function
• SQL_TableExportDialog Function
• SQL_TableImport Function
• SQL_TableImportDialog Function
• SQL_TableInfoOfDBF Function
• sql_tableinfotodbf Function
• SQL_TableInfoToOpenTable Function
• sql_tableinfotostring Function
• sql_time Function
• sql_update Function
• sql_upsert Function
• SYS_REMOVE Function

Portability Functions

Description

SQL syntaxes vary widely between vendors. Function implementations vary even more so. The set of functions below are deemed "Portability" functions. If these functions are used in a SQL statement parsed by one of the Xbasic SQL objects, the appropriate target function for the selected syntax handler is generated automatically by the object when the query is executed. Any argument re-ordering is done by the syntax handler.

Not all back-end databases support all of these functions. Known incompatibilities are noted. If you use a function that Portable SQL does not recognize, it will pass it through to the back-end database. You will get whatever error the database provides.

• Abs( Number )

  Returns the absolute value of Number.

• Acos( Number )

  Returns the ArcCosine of Number. Not Supported by Access, Ingres.

• AddDaysToDate( Date_Expression, Number )

  Adds Number days to Date_Expression and returns a Date.

• AddDaysToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number days to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AddHoursToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number hours to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AddMinutesToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number minutes to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AddMonthsToDate( Date_Expression )

  Adds Number months to Date_Expression and returns a Date.

• AddMonthsToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number months to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AddSecondsToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number seconds to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AddYearsToDate( Date_Expression )

  Adds Number years to Date_Expression and returns a Date.

• AddYearsToDateTime( Time_Expression )

  Adds Number years to Date_Time_Expression and returns a Date_Time.

• AllTrim( String )

  Removes white space characters both before and after the String. Not Supported by Firebird, Ingres.

• ASCII( Character )

  Returns the ASCII value of a Character. Not Supported by Informix, Ingres

• Asin( Number )

  Returns the ArcSine of Number in radians. Not Supported by Access, Ingres

• Atan( Number )

  Returns the ArcTangent of Number in radians. Not Supported Access

• Atan2( Number1, Number2 )

  Returns the ArcTangent of Number in radians. ????? Not Supported by Access, Ingres

• Avg( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Calculates the average value of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• Ceiling( Number )

  Returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to Number. Not Supported by Informix, Ingres, Access

• Character( Value1 [, Value2... ] )

  Returns character value of a numeric expression. Not Supported by Informix, Ingres

• Concatenate( String1, String2 [, StringN ... ] )

  Concatenates the character strings and returns the result.

• Cos( Number )

  Returns the Cosine of Number in radians.

• CoT( Number )

  Returns the Cotangent of Number in radians. Not Supported by Oracle, Informix, Excel, Access, Ingres

• Count( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Calculates the count of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• CurrentDate()

  Returns the current Date according to the SQL database server. Not Supported by Firebird

• CurrentDateTime()

  Returns the current Date_Time according to the SQL database server.

• CurrentTime()

  Returns the current Time according to the SQL database server. Not Supported by Firebird

• CurrentUser()

  Returns the ID of the current user according to the SQL database server.

• Database()

  Returns the current database name.

• Day( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the day of the month.

• DayName( Date_Expression )

  Returns the day name of the week.

• DayOfWeek( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the day number of the week.

• DayOfYear( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the day number of the year.

• DaysBetweenDates( Date_Expression1, Date_Expression2 )

  Returns the number of days between Date_Expression1 and Date_Expression2.

• DaysBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the number of days between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

• Degrees( Radians )

  Returns the degrees equivalent of Radians. Not Supported by Oracle, Informix, Firebird, Access, Ingres

• Exp( Number )

  Returns the number e raised to the power of Number. Not Supported by Firebird

• Floor( Number )

  Returns the largest integer less than or equal to Number. Not Supported by Ingres, Informix

• FullTextColumnContains(ColumnName, TextExpression)

  Returns true for the row if the value in the colum specified contains the text expression. For MySQL, MariaDB, and SQL Server this function generates full-text syntax. For MySQL and MariaDB you must create a full text index on the column. For SQL Server, you must install full text support when you install your database server. For all other databases, the syntax generated uses the LIKE keyword. See your database documentation for more information on using full text search.

• Hour( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the hour component of Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• HoursBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the hours between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

• If( Expression, TrueValue, FalseValue )

  Returns TrueValue or FalseValue based on the evaluation of Expression.

• IfNull( Expression, Replacement_Value )

  Returns Replacement_Value if Expression evaluates to NULL. Not Supported by Firebird

• Left( String, Count )

  Returns Count characters from the beginning of String. Not Supported by Firebird, Oracle, OracleLite, PostgreSQL, Informix

• Log( Number )

  Returns the natural logarithm of Number.

• Log10( Number )

  Returns the base 10 logarithm of Number. Not Supported by Access, Ingres

• Lower( String )

  Changes all upper case characters to lower case and returns the result.

• LTrim( String )

  Removes white space characters before the String. Not Supported by Ingres, Excel

• Max( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Calculates the maximum value of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• Min( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Calculates the minimum value of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• Minute( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the minutes value of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• MinutesBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the minutes between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

• Mod( Numerator, Denominator )

  Returns the integer remainder of a number divided by another

• Month( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the month value of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• MonthName( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the month name of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• MonthsBetweenDates( Date_Expression1, Date_Expression2 )

  Returns the months between Date_Expression1 and Date_Expression2.

• MonthsBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the months between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

• NextDay( Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the day after Date_Time_Expression as a Date_Time_Value.

• Now()

  Returns the current time as a Date_Time_Value.

• Pi()

  Returns an approximate value of Pi. Not Supported by Oracle, DB2

• Position( Find_String, Search_In_String )

  Returns the position of Find_String within Search_In_String.

• Power( Number, Exponent )

  Raises Number to the Exponent power. Not Supported by Firebird

• Quarter( Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the quarter of the year that contains Date_Time_Expression.

• Radians( Degrees )

  Converts a number in Degrees to radians. Not Supported by Oracle, Informix, Firebird, Access, Ingres

• Rand()

  Returns a random value between 0 and 1. Not Supported by Oracle, Informix

• Replace( Search_in_String, Search_For_String [, Replace_String ] )

  Replaces all occurrences of Search_For_String with Replace_String in Search_in_String. Not SUpported by Ingres, firebird

• Right( String, Count )

  Returns Count characters from the end of String. Not Supported by Firebird, Oracle, OracleLite, PostgreSQL, Informix

• Round( Number, Places )

  Rounds off a Number to Places decimal places. Not Supported by Firebird, Ingres

• RTrim( String )

  Removes white space characters after the String.

• Second( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the seconds value of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• SecondsBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the seconds between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

• SessionUser()

  Returns the name of the session user according to the SQL database server.

• Sign( Number )

  Returns 1 if Number is positive, 0 if zero, and -1 if negative. Not Supported by Informix, Ingres

• Sin( Number )

  Returns the Sine of Number in radians.

• Square( Number )

  Returns the square of Number.

• SquareRoot( Number )

  Returns the square root of Number.

• StdDev( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Calculates the standard deviation of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• StringLength( String )

  Returns the length of String.

• StringPad( String, Length, PadString )

  Returns a string right padded with PadString to a length of Length characters.

• StringPadLeft( String, Length, PadString )

  Returns a string left padded with PadString to a length of Length characters.

• SubString( String, Position, Length )

  Returns the portion of String starting at Position and extending Length characters.

• Sum( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Returns the sum of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• SystemUser()

  Returns the name of the system user according to the SQL database server.

• Tan( Number )

  Returns the Tangent of Number in radians.

• Truncate( Number1, Number2 )

  Returns Number truncated to Number2 decimal places.

• Upper( String )

  Changes all lower case characters to upper case and returns the result.

• Variance( ALL | Filter_Expression )

  Returns the variance of all rows or all rows that satisfy Filter_Expression.

• Week( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the week number of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• Year( Date_Expression | Date_Time_Expression )

  Returns the year of a Date_Expression or Date_Time_Expression.

• YearsBetweenDates( Date_Expression1, Date_Expression2 )

  Returns the years between Date_Expression1 and Date_Expression2.

• YearsBetweenDateTimes( Date_Time_Expression1, Date_Time_Expression2 )

  Returns the years between Date_Time_Expression1 and Date_Time_Expression2.

Examples

To get the current date as part of a query, you would code something like the following:

SELECT CurrentDate(), ... from ...

Depending on the syntax handler in use by the connection ( part of the connection string ) you would actually be executing:

Database Product

Sample Syntax

Microsoft Access

SELECT date()... from ...

MySQL

SELECT curdate()... from ...

Microsoft SQL Server

SELECT getdate()... from ...

Oracle

SELECT SYSDATE ... from ...

See Also

• Portable SQL, SQL::Connection::ListPortableSQLFunctions()
• Portable SQL Functions for Geographies V11