The functions listed below are in alphabetical order. Scroll down to the desired function or access a function using the Function Index links. At the bottom of each function's Possible uses table are Error Reports that provide possible meanings to the -99999999 error codes. To find out more about troubleshooting the error codes go to Troubleshooting Functions.

ABS( ) Function

Example          See Also

Returns the absolute value of the specified numeric expression.

Syntax

ABS( nExpression )

Returns

Numeric (double)

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies the numeric expression whose absolute value ABS( ) returns.

Examples

                        ABS(-45)                                                        Returns 45

                        ABS(10-30)                                                   Returns 20

                        ABS(30-10)                                                   Returns 20

                        {NUMBER1} = 40

                        {NUMBER2} = 2

                        ABS({NUMBER2} – {NUMBER1})            Returns 38

Possible uses

ACOS( ) Function

Example          See Also

ACOS( ) returns the arc cosine of a specified numeric expression. The arccosine is the angle whose cosine is number.  The returned angle is given in radians in the range 0 (zero) to pi (3.141592).

Syntax

ACOS( nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies a numeric expression whose arc cosine ACOS( ) returns. The value of nExpression can range from –1 through +1.

Examples

                        ACOS(0.5)                                                     Returns 1.05

                        ACOS (1)                                                       Returns 0

Possible uses

+ (addition)

Example          See Also

Returns the addition of two values.

Syntax

cExpression₁ + cExpression₂

nExpression₁ + nExpression₂

Returns

Numeric (double)

String

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies a numeric expression.

                        cExpression                                                  Specifies a character expression.

Examples

                        12 + 13                                                           Returns 25

                        10 + 30                                                           Returns 40

                        {NUMBER1} = 40

                        {NUMBER2} = 2

                        {NUMBER2} + {NUMBER1}                       Returns 42

                        {NAME} = Julia

                        “Good morning “ + {NAME}                        Returns “Good morning Julia”

                        [Q24] = Good afternoon

                        [Q24] + “ doctor”                                            Returns “Good afternoon doctor”

Possible uses

ADDYEARS( ) Function

Example          See Also

Adds n years to a date.

Syntax

ADDYEARS( dExpression, nExpression )

Returns

Date

Arguments

                        dExpression                                                  Date to which the number of year(s) will be added. The date must be a complete and valid date in the format: yyyymmdd.

                        nExpression                                                 Integer number of years to add. May be a variable or an integer.

Examples

                        {LDATE} = 20010828

                        {ADDYEARS} = 2

                        ADDYEARS({LDATE},{ADDYEARS})     Returns 20030828

Possible uses

AGE( ) Function

Example          See Also

Calculates the difference between two sets of dates in terms of days, months or years.

Syntax

AGE( dExpression₁, dExpression₂, "DAY"|"MO"|"YR" )

Returns

Integer

Arguments

                        dExpression₁                                                Beginning date for the age calculation. The date must be a complete and valid date in the format: yyyymmdd.

                        dExpression₂                                                Terminating date for the age calculation. The date must be a complete and valid date in the format: yyyymmdd.

                        "DAY"|"MO"|"YR"                                         Specifies what resultant calculation will represent: days, months (30 days) and years (365 days).

Examples

                        {CURDATE} = 20020909

                        {BDATE} = 19970122

                        AGE({CURDATE}, {BDATE}, "YR")          Returns 5

Possible uses

ALEN( ) Function

Example          See Also

ALEN( ) counts the number of elements in an array.

Syntax

ALEN( {^ArrayName^} )

Returns

Numeric (integer)

Arguments

                        {^ArrayName^}                                              Name of the array of the elements to be counted.

Examples

                        ALEN ({^ANAMES^})                                   Returns 2

Possible uses

ALLTRIM( ) Function

Example          See Also

Removes leading and trailing blanks from the specified character expression and returns the trimmed expression as a character string.

ALLTRIM( ) can be used to ensure that blanks are removed from data entered by a user.

Syntax

ALLTRIM( cExpression )

Returns

String

Arguments

                        cExpression                                                  Specifies the character expression from which leading and trailing blanks are removed.

Examples

                        ALLTRIM(“ Trim strings     “)                       Returns “Trim strings”

                        ALLTRIM ({FULLNAME})                            Returns “Luisa Lane”

Possible uses

ANGLE( ) Function

Example          See Also

Returns the arc tangent in all four quadrants from specified values.

ANGLE( ) returns the angle between the line y = 0 and the line connecting the specified coordinates and the origin (0, 0) of the coordinate system.

Syntax

ANGLE( nYCoordinate, nXCoordinate )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        nYCoordinate                                               Specifies the y coordinate.

                        nXCoordinate                                               Specifies the x coordinate.

Examples

                        ANGLE(10, 10)                                             Returns 45

                        ANGLE(0, -10)                                              Returns 180

Possible uses

APACK( ) Function

Example          See Also

Packs an array.

APACK( ) removes empty elements in an array.

Syntax

APACK( {^ArrayName^} )

Returns

Array

Arguments

                        {^ArrayName^}                                              Name of the array of the elements to be packed.

Examples

                        {^ANAMES(1)^} = “Thomas”

                        {^ANAMES(2)^} = “Susan”

                        {^ANAMES(3)^} =

                        {^ANAMES(4)^} = “Louis”

                        APACK({^ANAMES^})                                {^ANAMES^}

                                                                                                {^ANAMES(1)^} = “Thomas”

                                                                                                {^ANAMES(2)^} = “Susan”

                                                                                                {^ANAMES(3)^} = “Louis”

Possible uses

APPEND Command

Example          See Also

This command will append all the records from a source roster that match a logical expression (ExprL) to the target roster. If a list of fields is included, the function will append only those fields. If * is specified all fields will be appended.

Syntax

APPEND *|Field₁, ...Field_n FROM {*SourceRosterName*} INTO {*TargetRosterName*} [WHERE <ExprL>]

Arguments

                        Field₁, ...Field_n                                              List of fields that restrict what items in the roster will be appended.

                        *                                                                       All fields will be appended.

                        {*SourceRosterName*}                               Roster name from which the records will be appended.

                        {*TargetRosterName*}                                 Roster name to which the records will be appended.

                        ExprL                                                              Logical expression that if matched controls what records will be appended to the target roster.

Examples

                        APPEND * FROM {*OLDHHI*} INTO {*HHI*}

APPENDTOFILE( ) Function

Example          See Also

Writes (append) the contents of a character string to a file. 

APPENDTOFILE returns the number of bytes written to the file.

Syntax

APPENDTOFILE( cFileName, cExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        cFileName                                                    Specifies the name of the file to which the character string is written. Include a path with the file name if the file is in a directory other than the current default directory. If the specified file does not exist, it will be created automatically.

cExpression                                                  Specifies the character string that is written to the file. cExpression can be a literal character string, an expression that evaluates to a character string, or a character type symbol, array element, or question.

Examples

                        APPENDTOFILE([QFNAME], "INFSHEET")       Returns 17

Possible uses

ASIN( ) Function

Example          See Also

ASIN( ) returns in radians the arc sine of a numeric expression. The arcsine is the angle whose sine is number. The returned angle is given in radians in the range -pi/2 to pi/2 where pi = 3.141592.

Syntax

ASIN( nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies the numeric expression whose arc sine ASIN( ) returns. The value of nExpression can range from +1 through –1, and the value ASIN( ) returns can range from  -pi/2 through +pi/2 ( –1.57079 to 1.57079).

Examples

                        ASIN(0.5)                                                       Returns 0.52

                        ASIN (1)                                                         Returns 1.57

Possible uses

AT( ) Function

Example          See Also

Returns the beginning numeric position of the first occurrence of a character expression within another character expression, counting from the leftmost character.  If the character expression isn't found, AT( ) returns 0.  The search performed by AT( ) is case-sensitive.

Syntax

AT( cExpression₁, cExpression₂, nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                         cExpression₁                                               Specifies the character expression that AT( ) searches in.

                        cExpression₂                                                Specifies the character expression that AT( ) searches for.

                        nExpression                                                 Integer value that specifies which occurrence (first, second, third, and so on) of cExpression₂ is searched for in cExpression₁.

Examples

                        AT({FULLNAME}, {LNAME}, 1)                  Returns 7

                        AT(“Lucia Herrera”, “Herrera”, 1)               Returns 7

Possible uses

ATAN( ) Function

Example          See Also

ATAN( ) returns in radians the arc tangent of a numeric expression. The value returned by ATAN( ) can range from –pi/2 through +pi/2 (–1.57079 to 1.57079) where pi = 3.141592.

Syntax

ATAN( nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies a numeric expression whose arc tangent ATAN( ) returns. nExpression can be any value, and the value ATAN( ) returns can range –pi/2 through +pi/2 (–1.57079 to 1.57079).

Examples

                        ATAN(0.5)                                                     Returns 0.46

                        ATAN(1)                                                         Returns 0.79

Possible uses

 BLANK Command

Example          See Also

This command blanks out one symbol or multiple symbols. The contents of the specified variable(s) is purged.

Syntax

BLANK Var₁, Var₂, Var₃, ..., Var_n

Arguments

                        Var_x                                                                 Variable to be blanked. A variable can be a {Symbol}, {^ArrayElement(({Symbol}|[QName]|Number)^}or {^ArrayName^}

Examples

                        BLANK {NAME}, {^ANAMES({INDEX})^}, {^AAGES^}

CDOW( ) Function

Example          See Also

Converts a date (YYYYMMDD) into a text day-of-the-week value.

Syntax

CDOW( dExpression )

Returns

String

Arguments

                        dExpression                                                  Specifies the date from which CDOW() returns the day.

Examples

                        CDOW({DOM})                                             Returns Wednesday

Possible uses

CLEAN ROSTER Command

Example          See Also

Cleans a Roster. Deletes everything in the Roster and there is no way to recover that information.

Syntax

CLEAN ROSTER {*SourceRosterName*}

Arguments

                        {*SourceRosterName*}                               Name of the Roster to be cleaned.

Examples

                        CLEAN ROSTER {*HHI*}

CLONE ROSTER Command

Example          See Also

This command creates an exact duplicate of a roster.

Syntax

CLONE ROSTER {*SourceRosterName*} TO {*TargetRosterName*}

Arguments

                        {*SourceRosterName*}                               Name of the Roster to be duplicated.

                        {*TargetRosterName*}                                 Roster name of the new duplicate roster.

Examples

            CLONE ROSTER {*HHI*} TO {*TEMPHHI*}
CODE( ) Function

Example          See Also

CODE( ) returns the numeric code for a specific character expression in a specific distribution code (DCode). 

Syntax

CODE( cExpression, {%DcodeName%}, nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        cExpression                                                  Specifies the character expression that will be searched in the specified distribution code.

                        {%DcodeName%}                                        Name of the distribution code.

                        nExpression                                                 Integer number that specifies the language to use in the distribution code.

Examples

                        CODE(“Mother”, {%RELATIONSHIPS%}, 1)       Returns 3

Possible uses

>   >=   <   <=   ==   !=      Comparative Functions

Example          See Also

Relational operators work with all numeric, character and date data types.  The function returns a logical value, 1 is true, and 0 is false. The following table lists the comparative operators.

< 

23 < 54

> 

1 > 2 

==

 cVar1 == cVar

!=

5 != 3

<=

16 <= 216

>=

32 >= nHisAge

Syntax

nExpression₁  > | >= | < | <= | == | !=  nExpression₂

cExpression₁  > | >= | < | <= | == | !=  cExpression₂

dExpression₁  > | >= | < | <= | == | !=  dExpression₂

Returns

Numeric (double)

Arguments

                        Expression₁                                                  Specifies the first numeric, character or date expression that will be compared.

                        Expression₂                                                  Specifies the second numeric, character or date expression that will be compared.

Examples

                        23 < 54                                                           Returns 1

                        1 > 2                                                               Returns 0

                        cVar1 = “Mary”

                        cVar2 = “Josh”

                        cVar1 == cVar                                              Returns 0

                        5 != 3                                                              Returns 1

                        16 <= 216                                                      Returns 1

                        nHisAge = 20

                        32 >= nHisAge                                             Returns 1

                        d1 = 12/30/1992

                        d2 = 03/19/2001

                        d1 >= d2                                                        Returns 0

Possible uses

COMPRESS ROSTER Command

Example          See Also

Deletes lines from the roster {*RosterName*} if the field FieldName is empty.

This command will compress lines out of a specified roster, if a specified field in that roster is blank. If the field specified is blank for a line that line will be deleted and the other lines moved up. CAUTION: Once a roster is compressed, there is no way to recover the compressed lines.

Syntax

COMPRESS ROSTER {*RosterName*} ON FieldName

Arguments

                        {*SourceRosterName*}                               Name of the Roster to be searched for compression.

                        {*TargetRosterName*}                                 Field name in the roster to be tested for blank.

Examples

                        COMPRESS ROSTER {*HHI*} ON ID

COS( ) Function

Example          See Also

COS( ) returns the cosine of a specified numeric expression in radians. The returned angle is given in radians in the range -1 to 1.

Syntax

COS( nExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        nExpression                                                 Specifies a numeric expression whose cosine COS( ) returns. nExpression can be any value.

Examples

                        COS(0.5)                                                       Returns .88

                        COS (0)                                                          Returns 1

Possible uses

COUNT( ) Function

Example          See Also

COUNT( ) returns the number of times a specified string occurs in an array.

Syntax

COUNT( {^ArrayName^}, nExpression₁, nExpression₂, cExpression )

Returns

Numeric

Arguments

                        {^ArrayName^}                                              Name of the array of the elements to be searched.

                        nExpression₁                                                Starting integer index of the array.

                        nExpression₂                                                Ending integer index of the array.

                        cExpression                                                  Alpha-numeric string to search for. It can be a literal or the contents of a symbol.  If a literal, quotation marks are needed.

Examples

                        COUNT ({^ANAMES^}, 1, 21, "Miguel")   Returns 2

Possible uses