about # value

[ranga1970]

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If Trim(inXfmDataScrub.GENDER) # '' Then @TRUE Else @FALSE

What does this mean? does it mean Trim(inXfmDataScrub.GENDER) Is null then @True else @False?
thanks

[ray.wurlod]

# as an operator is one of four ways to express "is not equal to" in DataStage BASIC expressions. The others are:

• <>
  ><
  NE

[kcbland]

Code: Select all

If Trim(inXfmDataScrub.GENDER) # '' Then @TRUE Else @FALSE

What does this mean? does it mean Trim(inXfmDataScrub.GENDER) Is null then @True else @False?
thanks

Do NOT confuse blank with NULL. Absence of value is blank, NULL is an ASCII character value, dependent on your system setting (sometimes ASCII 0, othertimes 128).

You must know that a NULL condition cannot happen in your data for this expression to work. In the case of NULL, it would NEVER return TRUE, so would return UNKNOWN which would be @FALSE, because it cannot assert it is TRUE. A better thing to do is write a TRANSFORM or a FUNCTION such as EXISTS and use it to verify a variable has value:

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Function EXISTS(Arg1)
IF NOT(ISNULL(Arg1)) OR TRIM(Arg1) # "" Then Ans=@TRUE Else Ans=@FALSE
Return Ans

[vmcburney]

I think the "THEN @TRUE ELSE @FALSE" is redundant and you can write a derivation as

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Trim(inXfmDataScrub.GENDER) # ''

Which automatically equates to true or false.

Same with Ken's code:

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Ans = NOT(ISNULL(Arg1)) OR TRIM(Arg1) # ""