RAW statement

(ORACLE only)

Writes bytes to a field.

Syntax


RAW ( `field` [ , `position` [ , `length` ] ] ) = `expression`

field

The field in which you want to store expression.

position

An integer expression that indicates the position in field where you want to store expression. The default for position is 1.

length

An integer expression that indicates the number of positions you want to replace in field. If you do not use the length argument, RAW puts expression into field from position to end. ABL treats variable-length fields and fixed-length fields differently. See the Notes section for more information.

expression

A function or variable name that returns data and results in the bytes that you want to store in field.

Notes

In a variable length field, if (position +length -1) is greater than the length of field, the AVM pads the field with nulls before it performs the replacement.

In a fixed length field, if (position +length -1) is greater than the length of field, the AVM returns a run-time error. If (position + length -1) is less then the length of field, the AVM pads the field with nulls so that it remains the same size.

If position, length, or expression is equal to the Unknown value (?), then field becomes the Unknown value (?).

If position is less than 1, or length is less than 0, the AVM generates a run-time error.