Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Data Management:
SQL Reference

> ## LPAD

> Pads the character string corresponding to the first argument on the left with the character string corresponding to the third argument. After the padding, the length of the result is `length`.

> #### Syntax

>     LPAD ( char_expression , length [ , pad_expression ] )

> Example

> This example illustrates two ways to use the `LPAD` function:

>     SELECT LPAD (last_name, 30) FROM customer ;

>     SELECT LPAD (last_name, 30, '.') FROM customer ;

> #### Notes

> - The first argument to the function must be of type `CHARACTER`. The second argument to the function must be of type `INTEGER`. The third argument, if specified, must be of type `CHARACTER`. If the third argument is not specified, the default value is a string of length 1 containing one blank.

> - If `L1` is the length of the first argument and `L2` is the value of the second argument:

> - If `L1` is less than `L2`, the number of characters padded is equal to `L2` minus `L1`.
> - If `L1` is equal to `L2`, no characters are padded and the result string is the same as the first argument.
> - If `L1` is greater than `L2`, the result string is equal to the first argument truncated to the first `L2` characters.
> - The result is of type `CHARACTER`.

> - If the argument expression evaluates to `NULL`, the result is `NULL`.

> - The `char_expression` and `pad_expression` can contain multi-byte characters. The `length` specifies a number of characters.

> ##### Compatibility

> Progress extension

Copyright © 2005 Progress Software Corporation www.progress.com Voice: (781) 280-4000 Fax: (781) 280-4095