BuiltIn Functions › $FIXEDMASK Function (CA Datacom/DB Native Access)

$FIXEDMASK Function (CA Datacom/DB Native Access)

$FIXED‑MASK (or $FIX‑MASK) in a SET statement to assign a character to use as a mask character when a where‑condition in a FOR construct for a CA Datacom/DB native access dataview uses a CONTAINS or NOT CONTAINS operator.

A mask character blanks out one character in an expression. You can use the mask character any number of times in the expression so that a search can be made for other characters in the expression, regardless of context.

This function has the following format:

$FIXED‑MASK

or

$FIX‑MASK 

• You can set $FIXED‑MASK to any single non‑blank character. The default mask character is the asterisk (*).
• The total of the number of mask characters and search characters must not exceed the total field length. If the total of the number of mask characters and search characters is less than the total field length, then the search string can be found anywhere in the expression.
• The default mask character is in effect until it is reset with $FIXED‑MASK. Once the mask character is set (either explicitly or by default), that character remains in effect for the entire run or until it is explicitly reset. Therefore, if a calling program contains a where condition that uses a mask character and a subprogram resets the mask character and then returns to the calling program, the mask character remains reset and applies to any CONTAINS clauses in the calling program. This holds even if a different mask character was used in the calling program.

Examples

Assume a six‑character alphanumeric field called FIELDA and a mask character that was allowed to default to * (asterisk). A conditional expression that contains the following clause searches for values of field FIELDA that have an A in position 2 and a BC in positions 4 and 5 respectively, regardless of what characters are present in positions 1, 3, and 6:

WHERE FIELDA CONTAINS '*A*BC*'

Assume a six‑character alphanumeric field called FIELDB and a mask character that was set to _ (underscore). A conditional expression that contains the following clause searches for values of FIELDB that have AB in positions 2 and 3, 3 and 4, or 4 and 5:

WHERE FIELDB CONTAINS '_AB_'

Assume a five‑character field called FIELDC with a value of ABCDE and a mask character set to #. For the following test, the results are as shown in the following table:

WHERE FIELDC CONTAINS compare‑string