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Status Under review
Workspace Db2 for z/OS
Created by Guest
Created on Apr 18, 2024

RELATED IDEAS

INTERPRET Function for Packed-decimal Data

We have some old tables with a CHAR column where we store a record formatted by a Cobol Program. It contains a mix of display data and packed-decimal data. To use that data we have to read it in a Cobol program and interpret it using a Cobol copybook.

It would be much easier and more flexible if we could read a part of the column and use a function like the INTERPRET build-in function to get the data in a format that Db2 can handle. It should handle both signed and unsigned packed-decimal data and "convert" it to DECIMAL data. We do not see how we could use this data from Java or in a SQL SP today.

One example is that X'12345D' should be converted to a DECIMAL with the value -12345.

How we plan to use this is something like this:

SELECT INTERPRET(SUBSTR(COL1,5,8) AS DECIMAL(9,2)

FROM TABLE1

A good thing would be if we can specify the scale and precision for the value and get it converted to DECIMAL with that characteristics and the decimal-point in the right position.

We see no need to use it in WHERE-clauses or INDEX on expression, at least not from the beginning. The basic functionality is a good MVP.


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