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Glossary of FMS Functions and Operators

4x 5x FP

Tech Support Addendum #0430

A Quick glossary of functions/operators available for FMS WIN, FMS 4.x, 5.x, and FarmPro+

These expressions can be used with:

FarmPro+ in the expression builder (Filters, Sorts, Replace, Delete, Labels, Reports).

FMS 4.x with Global Replace, Mail Merge. Labels.

FMS 5.x with Global Replace, Mail Merge, Labels and Queries.

This is only meant as a quick reference and not a definitive explanation on possible uses.

For further information you may wish to check out books on the following subjects:

Clipper programming (Summer '87 and/or 5.x versions)

Microsoft FoxPro programming

dBase programming

Xbase programming

Books on these subjects are available at any bookstore with a well stocked computer section.

MATH functions/operators

operator/function
explanation
example
^exponential 6^2 returns 36
*multiplication6*6 returns 36
/division36/6 returns 36
+ addition6+6 returns 12
-subtraction36-6 returns 30
%returns remainder of division38%6 returns 2
ABS()absolute valueABS(-36) returns 36
AT('c',"string")returns first position of character 'c' in "string ", if not found returns 0. This function is case sensitive. AT("t", "format this puppy!")

returns 6

IF(expL,expr1,expr2)Returns one of two values depending on the value of logical expression expL.expL - the logical expression to be evaluated

expr1 - the expression to returned if expL is true

expr2 - the expression to returned if expL is false

IIF(.T., "It's True", "It was False")

returns "It's True"

INT(num)convert to decimal num to integer INT(1.3) = 1
LEN(expr)returns length of text string expr LEN("dog") = 3
MAX(num1,num2)returns greater of values
MIN(num2,num2)returns lesser of 2 values
MOD(num1,num2)returns remainder of division MOD(38,6) = 2
SQRT(expr)returns square root of expr**FarmPro+ only!
VAL(expr)converts string expr to numeric value VAL("36") = 36

STRING functions/operators

"text"inserts a set of empty quotes in expression **FarmPro+ only!
+concatenates two text strings"string1"+"string2"

returns "string1string2"

LEFT(expr,num)returns num characters from left side of string expr LEFT("hi there",2)

returns "hi"

LOWER(expr)converts all characters in string expr to lower case LOWER("Jones")

returns "jones"

LTRIM(expr)removes all leading spaces from string LTRIM(" Hi there! ")

returns "Hi there! "

RIGHT(expr,num)returns num characters from right side of string expr RIGHT("hi there",5)

returns "there"

SPACE(num)return num number of spaces
STR(expr,num)converts numeric expression expr to string, num is the number of decimal place to convert. STR(12.3456, 2)

returns "12.34"

SUBSTR(expr,num1,num2)returns num2 number of characters from string expr starting at character number num1. If num2 and its comma are not used then all characters starting with character num1 are returned. SUBSTR("I love food",3,4)
returns "love"SUBSTR("I love food",8)

returns "food"

TRIM(expr)removes all trailing blank spaces TRIM("Hi there! ")

returns "Hi there!"

UPPER(expr)converts all characters in string expr to upper case UPPER("Jones")

returns "JONES"

LOGICAL functions/operators

<less than
>greater than
=equals When comparing strings - strings are compared character by character. If one string is shorter than the other, the comparison ends when the shorter string runs out of characters. "Tom" = "Tomas"

would evaluate TRUE

==exactly equalsWhen comparing strings - If one string is shorter than the other, the expression will evaluate FALSE. "Tom" = "Tomas"

would evaluate FALSE

<>NOT equals to
<=less than or equal to
>=greater than or equal to
$containsUse to check to see is one string is contained within another. "for"$"California"

would evaluate TRUE

.T.TRUE
.F.FALSE
.NOT.NOT equals to
.AND.AND
.OR.OR

DATE functions

CDOW()returns the day of the week from a given date expression CDOW(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns "Tuesday"

CDOW(DATE())

returns current day of week

CMONTH()returns the name of the month from a given date expression CMONTH(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns "August"

CMONTH(DATE())

returns current month

CTOD()converts character format to date format CTOD("01/01/97")
DATE()returns today's date in date format from computer DATE()

returns today's date

DAY()returns the numeric day of the month for a given date expression DAY(CTOD("05/06/92"))

returns 6

DAY(DATE())returns today's day of month number

DOW()returns the day of the week from a given date expression.

The value ranges from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday)

DOW(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns 3

DOW(DATE())

returns today's day

DTOC()returns date expression as a character format DTOC(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns "08/04/92"

MONTH()returns the numeric month for a given date MONTH(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns 8

MONTH(DATE())

returns current month number

TIME()returns the current system time in 24-hour, eighth-character string (HH:MM:SS) format for example "14:22:35"

for 2:22pm at 35 seconds

YEAR()returns the year (as a numeric value) from a given date expression YEAR(CTOD("08/04/92"))

returns 1992

YEAR(DATE())

returns current year

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