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character to date field conversion

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    character to date field conversion

    I have some character fields that are in this format 20100612 and I need to change them to date field...how do i do this?
    i wasn't able to find it in help or the message boards.
    If I just change it in the table restructure, data gets lost.
    Please help someone. :)

    #2
    Re: character to date field conversion

    Where and how did you look in the help? It is definitely in there.
    Tim Kiebert
    Eagle Creek Citrus
    A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: character to date field conversion

      Have you discovered the date and time functions in the help system? The STOD() function seems promising.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: character to date field conversion

        Thanks Tom, perfect. I was looking for date conversion and for some reason it wasn't coming up.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: character to date field conversion

          Ok...here is a super newbie stupid question....where do I write this function to get this to work. Do I create a new date field and then there?

          Comment


            #6
            Re: character to date field conversion

            Time to get acquainted with the user's guide. The chapter on Batch Operations has a section on "Update Operations". You can solve your problem by adding a date type field to your table and then defining an Update Operation that populates it from the current character field, using the stod() function.

            Batch operations can create havoc in the hands of beginners and experienced veterans alike. My personal rule is to make two separate, good, backups, before running untested operations.

            In fact, it's often simplest to work with a copy of the database instead of the live (actual) data while doing your design.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: character to date field conversion

              Yeah I tried that. I went to operations, update, then selected my date field (which is not char), then I typed in:
              stod() and it tells me invalid or incomplete expression.
              I'm doing something wrong.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: character to date field conversion

                I found out the hard way re: backups....you are totally right!!!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: character to date field conversion

                  Ok, since you say you have c++ and vb experience we are not going to cut you as much slack. :) Just kidding.

                  STOD() takes a character parameter in the form of "YYYYMMDD" which you have in your original field.
                  So you should have something like stod(FieldName).
                  Replace 'Fieldname' with the name of the field that has the character data.
                  Tim Kiebert
                  Eagle Creek Citrus
                  A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: character to date field conversion

                    Ok, I go to update operation, choose my table, then go to create operation, choose date field, in expression, I type STOD(char_field).
                    I get an error message that says expression does not evaluate to a date value.
                    What am I doing wrong?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: character to date field conversion

                      Can you supply a sample of your app?

                      Is char_field the name of your field?
                      What is the size of that field? If it is larger than 8 try stod(alltrim(char_field))
                      Is the data in the form of YYYYMMDD

                      You will need to make sure that each entry is exactly of that form.
                      Tim Kiebert
                      Eagle Creek Citrus
                      A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: character to date field conversion

                        Yes, char_field is the name of my field. The date and char field are the same size.
                        Here is the code. it will run the operation without error messages but date is not changed in the date field, it's jsut empty.

                        'Operation is based on current filter and order of current table.
                        'Get the current table's filter and order expression

                        dim mru as p
                        mru = mru_query("il")
                        current_filter = mru.filter
                        current_order = mru.order
                        current_flags = mru.flags

                        'Check to see if current filter/order is valid in the context of "il"
                        if current_filter <> "" then
                        if eval_valid(current_filter,"il") =.f. then
                        a5_Operation_Warning() 'Display warning if current selection is meaningless
                        current_filter = ".t."
                        end if
                        end if

                        if current_order <> "" then
                        if eval_valid(current_order,"il") = .f. then
                        current_order = ""
                        end if
                        end if

                        a_tbl = table.open("il")
                        ON ERROR GOTO ERROR1306201000105403


                        DIM a5_operation_filter as C
                        a5_operation_filter = current_filter
                        query.filter = a5_operation_filter
                        DIM a5_operation_order as C
                        a5_operation_order = current_order
                        query.order = a5_operation_order
                        query.options = "I"+current_flags
                        query.description = "Temporary Query"
                        a_tbl.query_create("N")

                        update.fields = 2
                        update.field1 = "LIC_ISSUED"
                        update.expr1 = "CTOD(LIC_F_ISS)"
                        update.field2 = "LIC_EXP_DATE"
                        update.expr2 = "CTOD(LIC_EXP)"

                        a_tbl.update()


                        GOTO CONTINUE1306201000105403
                        ERROR1306201000105403:
                        ON ERROR GOTO 0
                        ui_msg_box("Error","Error running Update Operation"+crlf()+error_text_get())
                        END
                        CONTINUE1306201000105403:
                        a_tbl.close()'If the Operation is run from within a Form or Browse, then refresh the window
                        if is_object(topparent.this) then
                        if topparent.Class() = "form" .or. topparent.class() = "browse" then
                        topparent.Refresh_layout()
                        end if
                        end if

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: character to date field conversion

                          sorry, I meant to say my character field is a character. The names are in the code.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: character to date field conversion

                            In looking at this code, how does it know to takenad populate the date fields, it will cahnge them but there is no command to populate it...is that what CTOD does? it changes it and then it populates it too?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: character to date field conversion

                              Originally posted by FreeBird View Post
                              In looking at this code, how does it know to takenad populate the date fields, it will cahnge them but there is no command to populate it...is that what CTOD does? it changes it and then it populates it too?
                              No. It is the inner workings of the update operation. It takes the result of update.expr1 and assigns it to the field specified in update.field1.


                              I am a bit confused as I thought we were using STOD().
                              Last edited by Tim Kiebert; June 13, 2010, 12:39 AM.
                              Tim Kiebert
                              Eagle Creek Citrus
                              A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

                              Comment

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