Last updated: Dec 12, 2024
With CLEM, you can run operations to compare strings, create strings, or access characters.
In CLEM, a string is any sequence of characters between matching double
quotation marks ("string quotes"). Characters (CHAR) can be any
single alphanumeric character. They're declared in CLEM expressions using single back quotes in the
form of `<character>`, such as `z`, `A`, or
`2`. Characters that are out-of-bounds or negative indices to a string will result
in undefined behavior.
Note: Comparisons between strings that do and do not use SQL pushback may
generate different results where trailing spaces exist.
| Function | Result | Description |
|---|---|---|
allbutfirst(N, STRING)
|
String | Returns a string, which is STRING with the first N
characters removed. |
allbutlast(N, STRING)
|
String | Returns a string, which is STRING with the last characters removed. |
alphabefore(STRING1, STRING2)
|
Boolean | Used to check the alphabetical ordering of strings. Returns true if STRING1
precedes STRING2. |
count_substring(STRING, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | Returns the number of times the specified substring occurs within the string. For example,
count_substring("foooo.txt", "oo") returns 3. |
endstring(LENGTH, STRING)
|
String | Extracts the last N characters from the specified string. If the string
length is less than or equal to the specified length, then it is unchanged. |
hasendstring(STRING, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as isendstring(SUBSTRING, STRING). |
hasmidstring(STRING, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as ismidstring(SUBSTRING, STRING) (embedded
substring). |
hasstartstring(STRING, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as isstartstring(SUBSTRING, STRING). |
hassubstring(STRING, N, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as issubstring(SUBSTRING, N, STRING), where
N defaults to 1. |
hassubstring(STRING, SUBSTRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as issubstring(SUBSTRING, 1, STRING), where
N defaults to 1. |
isalphacode(CHAR)
|
Boolean | Returns a value of true if CHAR is a character in the specified string
(often a field name) whose character code is a letter. Otherwise, this function returns a value of
0. For example, isalphacode(produce_num(1)). |
isendstring(SUBSTRING, STRING)
|
Integer | If the string STRING ends with the substring SUBSTRING,
then this function returns the integer subscript of SUBSTRING in
STRING. Otherwise, this function returns a value of 0. |
islowercode(CHAR)
|
Boolean | Returns a value of true if CHAR is a lowercase letter
character for the specified string (often a field name). Otherwise, this function returns a value of
0. For example, both islowercode(``) and
islowercode(country_name(2)) are valid expressions. |
ismidstring(SUBSTRING, STRING)
|
Integer | If SUBSTRING is a substring of STRING but does not start on
the first character of STRING or end on the last, then this function returns the
subscript at which the substring starts. Otherwise, this function returns a value of
0. |
isnumbercode(CHAR)
|
Boolean | Returns a value of true if CHAR for the specified string (often a field
name) is a character whose character code is a digit. Otherwise, this function returns a value of
0. For example, isnumbercode(product_id(2)). |
isstartstring(SUBSTRING, STRING)
|
Integer | If the string STRING starts with the substring SUBSTRING,
then this function returns the subscript 1. Otherwise, this function returns a
value of 0. |
issubstring(SUBSTRING, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Searches the string STRING, starting from its Nth
character, for a substring equal to the string SUBSTRING. If found, this function
returns the integer subscript at which the matching substring begins. Otherwise, this function
returns a value of 0. If N is not given, this function defaults to
1. |
issubstring(SUBSTRING, STRING)
|
Integer | Searches the string STRING. If found, this function returns the integer
subscript at which the matching substring begins. Otherwise, this function returns a value of
0. |
issubstring_count(SUBSTRING, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Returns the index of the Nth occurrence of SUBSTRING within
the specified STRING. If there are fewer than N occurrences of
SUBSTRING, 0 is returned. |
issubstring_lim(SUBSTRING, N, STARTLIM, ENDLIM, STRING)
|
Integer | This function is the same as issubstring, but the match is constrained to
start on STARTLIM and to end on ENDLIM. The
STARTLIM or ENDLIM constraints may be disabled by supplying a
value of false for either argument—for example, issubstring_lim(SUBSTRING, N, false, false,
STRING) is the same as issubstring. |
isuppercode(CHAR)
|
Boolean | Returns a value of true if CHAR is an uppercase letter character. Otherwise,
this function returns a value of 0. For example, both
isuppercode(``) and isuppercode(country_name(2)) are valid
expressions. |
last(STRING)
|
String | Returns the last character CHAR of STRING (which must be at
least one character long). |
length(STRING)
|
Integer | Returns the length of the string STRING (that is, the number of characters
in it). |
locchar(CHAR, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Used to identify the location of characters in symbolic fields. The function searches the
string STRING for the character CHAR, starting the search at the
Nth character of STRING. This function returns a value indicating
the location (starting at N) where the character is found. If the character is not
found, this function returns a value of 0. If the function has an invalid offset
(N) (for example, an offset that is beyond the length of the string), this function
returns $null$. For example, locchar(`n`, 2,
web_page) searches the field called web_page for the `n`
character beginning at the second character in the field value. Be sure to use single back quotes to encapsulate the specified character. |
locchar_back(CHAR, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Similar to locchar, except that the search is performed backward starting
from the Nth character. For example, locchar_back(`n`, 9,
web_page) searches the field web_page starting from the ninth character
and moving backward toward the start of the string. If the function has an invalid offset (for
example, an offset that is beyond the length of the string), this function returns
$null$. Ideally, you should use locchar_back in conjunction with
the function length(<field>) to dynamically use the length of the current
value of the field. For example, locchar_back(`n`, (length(web_page)), web_page). |
lowertoupper(CHAR)
lowertoupper (STRING)
|
CHAR or String | Input can be either a string or character, which is used in this function to return a new
item of the same type, with any lowercase characters converted to their uppercase equivalents. For
example, lowertoupper(`a`), lowertoupper(“My string”), and
lowertoupper(field_name(2)) are all valid expressions. |
matches
|
Boolean | Returns true if a string matches a specified pattern. The pattern must be a
string literal; it can't be a field name containing a pattern. You can include a question mark
(?) in the pattern to match exactly one character; an asterisk (*)
matches zero or more characters. To match a literal question mark or asterisk (rather than using
these as wildcards), use a backslash (\) as an escape character. |
replace(SUBSTRING, NEWSUBSTRING, STRING)
|
String | Within the specified STRING, replace all instances of
SUBSTRING with NEWSUBSTRING. |
replicate(COUNT, STRING)
|
String | Returns a string that consists of the original string copied the specified number of times. |
stripchar(CHAR,STRING)
|
String | Enables you to remove specified characters from a string or field. You can use this function,
for example, to remove extra symbols, such as currency notations, from data to achieve a simple
number or name. For example, using the syntax stripchar(`$`, 'Cost') returns a new
field with the dollar sign removed from all values. Be sure to use single back quotes to encapsulate the specified character. |
skipchar(CHAR, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Searches the string STRING for any character other than
CHAR, starting at the Nth character. This function returns an
integer substring indicating the point at which one is found or 0 if every
character from the Nth onward is a CHAR. If the function has an
invalid offset (for example, an offset that is beyond the length of the string), this function
returns $null$. locchar is often used in conjunction
with the skipchar functions to determine the value of N (the point
at which to start searching the string). For example, skipchar(`s`, (locchar(`s`, 1,
"MyString")), "MyString"). |
skipchar_back(CHAR, N, STRING)
|
Integer | Similar to skipchar, except that the search is performed backward, starting
from the Nth character. |
startstring(N, STRING)
|
String | Extracts the first N characters from the specified string. If the string
length is less than or equal to the specified length, then it is unchanged. |
strmember(CHAR, STRING)
|
Integer | Equivalent to locchar(CHAR, 1, STRING). It returns an integer substring
indicating the point at which CHAR first occurs, or 0. If the
function has an invalid offset (for example, an offset that is beyond the length of the string),
this function returns $null$. |
subscrs(N, STRING)
|
CHAR | Returns the Nth character CHAR of the input string
STRING. This function can also be written in a shorthand form as
STRING(N). For example, lowertoupper(“name”(1)) is a valid
expression. |
substring(N, LEN, STRING)
|
String | Returns a string SUBSTRING, which consists of the LEN
characters of the string STRING, starting from the character at subscript N. |
substring_between(N1, N2, STRING)
|
String | Returns the substring of STRING, which begins at subscript
N1 and ends at subscript N2. |
textsplit(STRING, N, CHAR)
|
String | textsplit(STRING,N,CHAR) returns the substring between the
Nth-1 and Nth occurrence of CHAR. If
N is 1, then it will return the substring from the beginning of
STRING up to but not including CHAR. If N-1 is
the last occurrence of CHAR, then it will return the substring from the
Nth-1 occurrence of CHAR to the end of the string. |
trim(STRING)
|
String | Removes leading and trailing white space characters from the specified string. |
trimstart(STRING)
|
String | Removes leading white space characters from the specified string. |
trimend(STRING)
|
String | Removes trailing white space characters from the specified string. |
unicode_char(NUM)
|
CHAR | Input must be decimal, not hexadecimal values. Returns the character with Unicode value
NUM. |
unicode_value(CHAR)
|
NUM | Returns the Unicode value of CHAR. |
uppertolower(CHAR)
uppertolower (STRING)
|
CHAR or String | Input can be either a string or character and is used in this function to return a new item
of the same type with any uppercase characters converted to their lowercase equivalents.
Remember to specify strings with double quotes and characters with single back quotes. Simple field names should be specified without quotes. |