Chapter 5
This chapter shows you how to tally the data in a group of records to find statistical
information, such as the minimum or maximum value. You can answer questions like:
What is the minimum salary for all the employees in a view?
What is the average salary for all the employees in department 201?
BASIS uses tables and statistical functions to calculate statistics for groups of records.
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to:

Create a table

Calculate statistics for records using the statistical functions with tables

Divide records into groups and calculate statistics for each group

Supply a table with record data from joined views

Rename a table column heading

Reformat a table column

Eliminate duplicate rows in a table
169
Creating a Table
A table is a result set that contains actual data from records, not just pointers. This type
of result set is also known as a value result set. Since tables contain actual data from
records in a view, accessing the record information may take less processing time than
accessing it through simple result sets containing pointers. Before discussing how to use
tables to compute statistics for a group of records, we’ll first look at the table in its most
basic form.
The syntax for creating the most basic table is
FIND
table name
,
VALUES
field or arithmetic
expression
field or arithmetic
expression
FROM
WHERE
view
retrieval test
Variable Component Definitions
170 
table name
the name for the table you create
field
the field from which the system gets data to form a column of the
table
arithmetic
expression
values combined together using arithmetic operators; for
information about arithmetic operators, see “Components of Basic
Searches.”
view
the view that contains the fields(s) from which the system gets data
retrieval test
a test that determines from which records in the view the system
gets the data for the table
Restrictions

The name of the table can contain any printable character but can be no more than 32
characters long.

The field cannot have the data type TEXT_STREAM.

You cannot specify field lists for the field box.

If you specify a compound field for the field box, you must specify a subfield
number.

A row in the table cannot be more than 250 characters long.

You cannot update data retrieved in a table.

Tables are supported by the FIND and TYPE commands only.
Example 1
Suppose you want to create a table containing certain fields from all the records in the
EMPLOYEE view. In your command, simply specify the names of the desired fields:
table name
fields
view
FIND TEMP VALUES ENO, NAME, DNO, JOB, SALARY FROM EMPLOYEE
You can display the table by using the TYPE command. The system uses the field names
as the default column headings. The table would look similar to the following:
TYPE *
ENO
----1001
1823
2312
2458
2843
10040
5235
2930
3395
3724
3912
NAME
-------------DAVIS, JOE
SMITH, JOHN
MILLER, JOHN
MARTIN, PETER
JAMES, JOYCE
KUNCHAL, KURT
JOHNSON, JANE
BLACK, THOMAS
BROWN, SANDRA
JACKSON, MARY
LEMON, LINDA
DNO
--100
201
301
301
301
501
202
301
100
201
301
JOB
-----------President
Salesman
Programmer
Clerk
Programmer
Manager
Secretary
Manager
Secretary
Manager
Programmer
SALARY
-------8,000.00
2,000.00
2,350.00
1,050.00
2,000.00
3,944.00
1,000.00
2,650.00
1,700.00
2,700.00
2,150.00
171
Example 2
Suppose you want to create a table containing the same fields as in example 1 but using
the data from the records of employees in department 201 only. In this case, the
command would look exactly like the one in the first example with the addition of a
retrieval test like the following:
FIND TEMP VALUES ENO, NAME, DNO, JOB, SALARY FROM EMPLOYEE +
WHERE DNO = 201
The system finds all the records with the value 201 in the DNO field. Then it returns the
data in the ENO, NAME, DNO, JOB, and SALARY fields in a table (i.e., value result
set). The table would look similar to the following:
TYPE *
172 
ENO
----1823
3724
4801
5734
7408
6819
10002
NAME
-------------SMITH, JOHN
JACKSON, MARY
JONES, PAUL
ADAMS, PAULA
JARVIS, JERRY
DAY, THOMAS
SCHMIDT, RANDY
DNO
--201
201
201
201
201
201
201
10012
10014
WRIGHT, EGOR
PIZZINO, JUDY
201
201
JOB
-----------Salesman
Manager
Salasman
Clerk
Salesman
Salesman
Administrative
Assistant
Clerk
Administrative
Assistant
SALARY
-------2,000.00
2,700.00
2,100.00
1,100.00
1,650.00
1,500.00
1,431.00
1,239.00
1,304.00
Calculating Statistics for Records
When used in conjunction with statistical functions, tables compute statistics for records
in a view. The statistical functions are the same as those discussed in “Components of
Advanced Searches,” except their syntax is slightly different. In tables, statistical
function expressions are made up of statistical functions attached to fields or arithmetic
expressions, as shown below:
statistical function expressions
statistical
function
(
field
)
or
statistical
function
(
arithmetic
expression
)
Some examples of valid statistical function expressions are

MAX(SALARY)

AVG(SALARY+COMM)

MIN(COMM)
Values generated by statistical functions become the data contained in the columns of a
table. The syntax for using statistical functions in a table is similar to the syntax for the
most basic table in the previous section, except you specify statistical functions instead of
fields.
173
The syntax for calculating statistics for records is:
FIND
table name
VALUES
statistical function
expression
,
FROM
statistical function
expression
view
WHERE
retrieval test
See the variable component definitions and restrictions in the previous section where
appropriate.
Note: You can get similar information by using the TYPE command with the COUNT,
MAX, MEAN, MIN, and TOTAL parameters; however, system performance is not as
efficient as when you use tables and statistical functions.
Example 1
Suppose you want to find the minimum, average, and maximum salaries for all the
employees. In your FIND command, you specify the contents of your table by using
statistical functions on the SALARY field. The command would look like the following:
statistical function
expressions
table name
view
FIND TEMP VALUES MIN(SALARY), AVG(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE
A TYPE command displays the statistics:
TYPE *
F001
-----750.00
F002
------1653.52
F003
------8000.00
Note: If the data in the column is the product of a statistical function, the system uses
the heading F00n, where n is the number of the column. You can change these headings
by using an AS clause (explained later in this chapter).
174 
Example 2
Suppose that you know the maximum salary of 8000 in the previous example belongs to
the president of the company. If you want to find the maximum salary excluding the
president’s, you could add a retrieval test to your FIND command like the following:
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE +
WHERE JOB ^= 'PRESIDENT'
The system examines the data from the SALARY field of all the records in the
EMPLOYEE view except the record that contains the value PRESIDENT in its JOB
field. From this data, it determines the maximum amount and returns this value in the
table. Displaying the table shows that the maximum value is 3944.00:
TYPE *
F001
------3944.00
Example 3
Suppose you want to find the maximum salary of all the salesmen, but you want to take
into consideration any commission they might earn. To do this, you must use the MAX
function on SALARY and COMM fields added together. You must also specify a
retrieval test that obtains only the records whose JOB field contains the value
SALESMAN. The FIND command would look like the following:
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY+COMM) FROM EMPLOYEE +
WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
First the system forms a temporary simple result set holding all the records whose JOB
field contains the value SALESMAN. Then the system adds the data in each record’s
SALARY and COMM fields and determines which sum is the maximum value. This
value is returned in the table. The TYPE command displays the table as shown below:
TYPE *
F001
------3500.00
175
Expanded Capabilities of COUNT
In the “Statistical Functions” section of “Components of Advanced Searches,” we saw
how to use the COUNT function to count the number of non-null values in a field. When
used with tables, the COUNT function has extra capabilities. These additional features
and the corresponding syntax are described in the table below:
To
Use this syntax
Eliminate records with duplicate
values and count the remaining
non-null values
COUNT ( DISTINCT
field
)
Count the number of records
COUNT ( * )
Some examples of valid commands using the COUNT function in the manner described
above are:
FIND TEMP VALUES COUNT(DISTINCT JOB) FROM EMPLOYEE
FIND TEMP VALUES COUNT(DISTINCT JOB) FROM EMPLOYEE +
WHERE SALARY > 200
FIND TEMP VALUES COUNT(*) FROM CLIENT
Example 1 COUNT(DISTINCT)
Suppose you want to find how many different jobs exist at the travel agency that owns the
TOUR database. You could retrieve all the records in the EMPLOYEE view and display
the values in the job fields. Then you could manually count the jobs, skipping those that
are repeated on the list. Or, you could obtain this information by entering the following
command:
FIND TEMP VALUES COUNT (DISTINCT JOB) FROM EMPLOYEE
176 
When creating the temporary result set, the system eliminates those records with a job that
repeats a job already listed in the result set. Then it counts the remaining jobs in the set
and returns a table consisting solely of the number it counted. Executing the TYPE
command displays the following:
F001
---9
Example 2 COUNT(*)
Suppose you want to find the average salary of all the employees and the number of
records considered in the calculation. You could enter the following:
FIND TEMP VALUES AVG (SALARY), COUNT(*) FROM EMPLOYEE
The system creates a temporary result set containing the salaries of all the records. After
calculating the average of these salaries and counting the number of records in the set, it
returns these figures in a table. The display would be similar to the following:
F001
------1653.52
F002
---131
Calculating Statistics for Multiple Groups of Records (GROUP
BY Clause)
In the last section, you learned how to tabulate statistics for a particular group of records,
such as all the records in a view, all the salesmen’s records, and all the records of
employees in department 201. But what if you want to find the maximum salary of
employees in each department? Using the method in the other section, you would have to
enter several FIND commands—one for each department number—like the following:
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE DNO = 101
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE DNO = 201
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE DNO = 202
The information you get from the above commands can be obtained in one table with one
FIND command by using the GROUP BY clause. The GROUP BY clause assembles
together records with the same value in the specified field and then calculates the
specified statistics for each record group.
177
The syntax for calculating statistics for groups of records is
FIND table name
VALUES
,
column
data
column
data
FROM
WHERE
view
GROUP BY
retrieval test
field
,
field
Variable Component Definitions
table name
the name that you give to the table you want to create
column data
a field or statistical function expression from which the system
gets data to form a column of the table
view
the view that contains the field(s) from which the system gets
data for the table
field
the field according to which the system groups the data
retrieval test
a test that determines from which records the system gets the
data for the table
Restrictions
178 

If you specify a field for one column data box and a statistical function for another
column data box, you must also specify the field in the GROUP BY clause.

You cannot specify field lists for the column data box or field box.

If you specify a compound field, you must specify a subfield number.
Example 1
For example, suppose you want to find the minimum and maximum salaries for each type
of job in the EMPLOYEE view. You would need the following data to make up the
columns of your table: job title, minimum salary, maximum salary. The FIND command
would look like this:
column data
(field)
column data
(statistical function
expressions)
view
table name
field
FIND TEMP VALUES JOB, MIN(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE GROUP BY JOB
First, the system groups all the records with the same job. Then it examines the data in
the SALARY fields of the records in each job group to find the minimum and maximum
salaries. The table would look like this:
JOB
-----------------------ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
OPERATOR
PRESIDENT
PROGRAMMER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
VICE-PRESIDENT
F002
------933.00
750.00
1300.00
902.00
8000.00
1354.00
1395.00
900.00
2629.00
F003
------1446.00
1650.00
3944.00
1450.00
8000.00
2371.00
2100.00
1826.00
2902.00
Note: The system uses the name of the field for the column heading. If the data in the
column is the product of a statistical function, the system uses the heading F00n, where n
is the number of the column. You can change these headings by using the AS clause
(explained later in the “Renaming Table Column Headings (AS Clause)” section).
Example 2
You can also group records by more than one field. Suppose you wanted to see the
minimum and maximum salaries for each job in each department. You could enter the
following command:
179
FIND TEMP VALUES DNO, JOB, MIN(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) FROM +
EMPLOYEE GROUP BY DNO, JOB
The system first groups records whose DNO fields contain the same numbers. Then,
within each department group, it groups records whose JOB fields contain the same
values. Then it compares the data in the SALARY fields of the records in each job group
within each department group to find the minimum and maximum salaries. The table
would look similar to the following:
DNO
---100
100
100
100
100
100
100
101
101
101
101
101
201
201
201
201
201
201
201
202
202
202
202
301
301
301
301
301
301
.
.
.
180 
JOB
------------------------ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
OPERATOR
PRESIDENT
PROGRAMMER
SECRETARY
CLERK
MANAGER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
VICE-PRESIDENT
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
OPERATOR
PROGRAMMER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
MANAGER
OPERATOR
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
PROGRAMMER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
F003
---------1446.00
1500.00
2455.00
1015.00
8000.00
1790.00
1700.00
811.00
2500.00
395.00
1053.00
2629.00
1304.00
1100.00
2573.00
930.00
1364.00
1406.00
1186.00
1300.00
902.00
1643.00
900.00
993.00
867.00
2650.00
1354.00
1609.00
1034.00
F004
---------1446.00
1650.00
2455.00
1015.00
8000.00
2194.00
1700.00
1200.00
2713.00
1395.00
1477.00
2629.00
1431.00
1239.00
2700.00
930.00
1793.00
2100.00
1612.00
2258.00
902.00
2015.00
1000.00
1213.00
1150.00
2791.00
2350.00
1627.00
1826.00
Example 3
Suppose you want to find the maximum and minimum salaries for each type of job in
department 101. The FIND command would be the same as the one in example 2 with a
retrieval test added to it. This retrieval test would restrict the records accessed from the
EMPLOYEE view to only those with the value 101 in their DNO field. The FIND
command would look like this:
FIND TEMP VALUES DNO, JOB, MIN(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) FROM +
EMPLOYEE WHERE DNO = 101 GROUP BY DNO, JOB
The system retrieves the records whose DNO field contains 101. Then it arranges these
records into groups according to the value in their JOB field. Within each job group of
records, the system compares the values in the SALARY field to find the minimum and
maximum values. The table would look similar to the following:
DNO
---101
101
101
101
101
JOB
------------------------CLERK
MANAGER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
VICE-PRESIDENT
F003
---------811.00
2500.00
395.00
1053.00
2629.00
F004
---------1200.00
2713.00
1395.00
1477.00
2629.00
Note: Although the records accessed for the table all have the same department
number, you must still group them by the DNO field (as well as the JOB field) because
the DNO field is specified as one of the columns in the table. (See the restrictions at the
beginning of this section.) If you didn’t want the DNO field to be part of the table, you
could change the command to this:
FIND TEMP VALUES JOB, MIN(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) FROM +
EMPLOYEE WHERE DNO = 101 GROUP BY JOB
Restricting Groups of Records (HAVING Clause)
The HAVING clause operates the same as a WHERE clause except that it restricts
groups of records instead of individual records. In other words, if the records in a view
are divided into groups based on their department number, your table does not have to
contain all the department groups. With the HAVING clause, you can limit the
department groups based on some condition. Although the condition can be just about
anything, the advantage of the HAVING clause is that the condition can test the value
generated by a statistical function expression for each record group. For instance, you
181
can limit the department groups contained in the table to the ones that have an average
salary greater than 1000. The condition in your HAVING clause would test the value
generated by the statistical function expression AVG(SALARY) for each department
group. Department groups for which the computed value is over 1000 will be part of the
table.
The syntax for restricting record groups is
FIND
,
temp table
column
data
VALUES
WHERE
column
data
FROM
retrieval test
view
,
field
GROUP BY
HAVING
field
retrieval test
See the beginning of this section for definitions of the variable components used above.
Restrictions/Guidelines
Since the HAVING clause must compare some property of the group with a search
value, there are restrictions on what retrieval test you may use with the HAVING clause:

The field(s) you specify in the retrieval test must be the same field(s) you specified in
the GROUP BY clause. For example:
FIND TEMP VALUES DNO, MIN(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE +
GROUP BY DNO HAVING DNO = 103:401

Instead of a field, you can specify a statistical function expression in the retrieval test.
For example:
FIND TEMP VALUES DNO FROM EMPLOYEE GROUP BY DNO HAVING +
MIN(SALARY) > 900

The test operator you specify in the retrieval test must be a relational test operator.
Example 1
An example can better convey the purpose of the HAVING clause. Suppose you want to
list the departments that have a minimum salary greater than 900. You could enter
FIND TEMP VALUES DNO FROM EMPLOYEE GROUP BY DNO HAVING +
MIN(SALARY) > 900
182 
The system first groups together records with the same values in their DNO field. Then it
finds the minimum salary for each record group. If a record group’s minimum salary is
greater than 900, the group’s department number (DNO) becomes an entry in the table.
Displaying the table shows which departments satisfy the condition specified in the
HAVING clause:
TYPE *
DNO
--100
201
302
501
Example 2
Except for the restrictions already mentioned, all the other standard applications of
retrieval tests apply for HAVING clauses. They can contain connector operators,
arithmetic operators, or even nested WHERE clauses. For example, suppose you want to
list the jobs that have a maximum salary greater than the minimum salary of managers.
You could enter:
FIND TEMP VALUES JOB, MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE +
GROUP BY JOB HAVING MAX(SALARY) > MIN(EMPLOYEE.SALARY +
WHERE JOB = 'MANAGER')
The system does the following tasks for the above FIND command:

Groups records of employees that have the same job.

Finds the maximum salary for each job group.

Calculates the search value for the HAVING clause by performing the statistical
function on a nested WHERE clause. (This search value is the minimum salary for
managers.)

Compares the maximum salaries of the job groups with the minimum salary of
managers. The job groups that have a maximum salary greater than the minimum
salary of managers will be part of the table.
183
The TYPE command displays the table:
TYPE *
JOB
--VICE-PRESIDENT
SECRETARY
SALESMAN
PROGRAMMER
PRESIDENT
MANAGER
F002
---2765.60
1363.26
1697.57
1935.84
8000.00
2586.60
Supplying a Table with Data from Records in Joined Views
In all the previous sections, tables were built using data from records in a single view.
However, you can also access data from records in joined views. The syntax for such a
task is a combination of the syntax for a join operation and any of the syntax variations,
described earlier, that create a table.
The standard JOIN syntax (without the word FIND) is added to any of the tablegenerating syntaxes after the word FROM (where the name of the single view would
normally go). The diagram below shows how the JOIN syntax fits into the GROUP BY
clause syntax:
184 
JOIN Syntax
X
FIND view 1
,
view X
,
view 2 WHERE
AND view X
.
view 1
fieldX
.
field1
join
operator
join
operator
view Y
view 2
.
fieldY
.
field2
,
retrieval
test
GROUP BY Syntax
FIND
temp table
VALUES
,
column
data
FROM
GROUP BY
field
column
data
The definitions for the above variable components are the same as the ones in the
standard JOIN and GROUP BY syntax. The same restrictions apply here too.
Example 1
Suppose you want to create a basic table, but you want to fill it with values from records
in joined views. The joined views are EMPLOYEE and DEPENDENT. The values you
want for the table are from the fields NAME, ENO, and JOB in the EMPLOYEE view
and NAME and RELATIONSHIP from the DEPENDENT view. As always, when
working with joined views, you must be sure to qualify fields that have the same name in
both views. The command would be as follows:
FIND TEMP VALUES EMPLOYEE.NAME, EMPLOYEE.ENO, JOB, +
DEPENDENT.NAME, DEPENDENT.RELATIONSHIP FROM EMPLOYEE, +
DEPENDENT WHERE EMPLOYEE.ENO := DEPENDENT.ENO
The system joins the views and then retrieves the data in the specified fields to make up
the columns of the table. The table would look like this:
185
EMPLOYEE NAME
--------------DAVIS, JOE
DAVIS, JOE
KUNCHAL, KURT
KUNCHAL, KURT
KUNCHAL, KURT
JACKSON, MARY
JONES, PAUL
JONES, PAUL
JONES, PAUL
JONES, PAUL
SMITH, NANCY
SMITH, NANCY
ADAMS, PAULA
CRIST, RONALD
CRIST, RONALD
ACHILLES, HAROLD
ACHILLES, HAROLD
ACHILLES, HAROLD
ACHILLES, HAROLD
ELLIS, BOB
ELLIS, BOB
ELLIS, BOB
ELLIS, BOB
.
.
.
ENO
----1001
1001
10040
10040
10040
3724
4801
4801
4801
4801
5519
5519
5734
10000
10000
10001
10001
10001
10001
10005
10005
10005
10005
JOB
---------PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
SALESMAN
SALESMAN
SALESMAN
SALESMAN
MANAGER
MANAGER
CLERK
CLERK
CLERK
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
PROGRAMMER
PROGRAMMER
PROGRAMMER
PROGRAMMER
DEPENDENT NAME
---------------DAVIS, MARY
DAVIS, JAMES
KUNCHAL, CANDICE
KUNCHAL, DELIA
KUNCHAL, IVAN
JACKSON, GREG
JONES, SALLY
JONES, PAUL
JONES, MARY
JONES, KEN
SMITH, HENRY
BONN, STEVEN
JAMES, LINDA
CRIST, GAIL
CRIST, DAVID
ACHILLES, BETTY
ACHILLES, OSCAR
ACHILLES, LYNN
ACHILLES, IDA
ELLIS, TEERI
ELLIS, PHIL
ELLIS, RUSS
ELLIS, SUSAN
RELATION
-------WIFE
CHILD
WIFE
CHILD
CHILD
CHILD
WIFE
CHILD
CHILD
CHILD
HUSBAND
OTHER
MOTHER
WIFE
CHILD
WIFE
CHILD
CHILD
CHILD
WIFE
CHILD
CHILD
CHILD
Example 2
Suppose you want to find the average salary of employees in each building. Since salary
information is in the EMPLOYEE view and building information is in the
DEPARTMENT view, you must join these two views before grouping their records by
building. The FIND command would look like this:
FIND TEMP VALUES BUILDING_NO, AVG(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE, +
DEPARTMENT WHERE EMPLOYEE.DNO := DEPARTMENT.DNO +
GROUP BY BUILDING_NO
After the system joins the views EMPLOYEE and BUILDING, it groups records with the
same building numbers. Then it calculates the average salary for each building group.
The result set display would look similar to the following:
186 
TYPE *
BUILDING_NO
----------1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
F002
---2416.66
1683.50
1519.69
1232.07
1353.60
1625.05
1678.00
1772.60
Renaming Table Column Headings (AS Clause)
By default, the system uses the field name specified in the FIND command as the column
heading when a table is displayed. If the data in the column is the product of a statistical
function, the system uses the heading F00n ,where n is the number of the column. The
system also uses the default F00n heading when the source of the table data is records
from joined views and the field you specify has the same name in both views. You can
change these default column headings by using the AS clause.
The AS clause goes after each field or statistical function expression with a column
heading you want to change. These fields or statistical function expressions can be part of
any of the FIND syntax variations, shown in the previous sections, that create a table.
The syntax for renaming a column heading is
AS
column name
Restrictions/Guidelines

The column name may contain any printable character except break characters.

There is no restriction on the length of column names. (If your column name wraps
to the next line, increase the column width through the TYPE command. For more
information about the TYPE command, see Interactive FQM Commands.
Example
In a previous example, you found the maximum and minimum salaries of each type of job
in the EMPLOYEE view:
FIND TEMP VALUES JOB, MIN(SALARY), MAX(SALARY) +
FROM EMPLOYEE GROUP BY JOB
187
The column headings were JOB, F001, and F002. To change these headings to more
descriptive names, you could enter the following:
column heading
column heading
FIND TEMP VALUES JOB AS JOB_TITLE, MIN(SALARY) AS MIN_SALARY, +
MAX(SALARY) AS MAX_SALARY FROM EMPLOYEE GROUP BY JOB
column heading
When you display the table, you will see your new headings:
JOB_TITLE
-----------------------ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
OPERATOR
PRESIDENT
PROGRAMMER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
VICE-PRESIDENT
MIN_SALARY
---------933.00
750.00
1300.00
902.00
8000.00
1354.00
1395.00
900.00
2629.00
MAX_SALARY
---------1446.00
1650.00
3944.00
1450.00
8000.00
2371.00
2100.00
1826.00
2902.00
Formatting a Table Column (Data Types)
When you create a table, the system formats each column according to the data type of the
corresponding fields. These data types were specified by your DBA when the database
was set up. If the values in a table column are generated by a calculation (for example,
AVG(SALARY) or SALARY+500), the system often selects a data type called
approximate numeric for these values. Since the default data types may not give the
columns in your table the format you desire, BASIS gives you the option of changing the
data type for the values in any of your table columns.
The syntax for changing the data type goes after each field, arithmetic expression, or
statistical function expression that makes up the column data. If you also specify an AS
clause, the syntax for changing a data type goes before it.
The syntax for changing a data type is
188 
data type
symbol
:
.
precision
scale
See the table below for a list of the data types and their corresponding symbols,
precisions, and scales. An automatic precision means that you do not have to specify a
precision because the system automatically defaults to a precision based on your host
machine.
Data Type
Symbol
Precision (or Size)
Exact Binary
E
1 to 31
Integer
I
automatic
Exact Decimal
P
1 to 31
Approximate Numeric
A
1 to 28
Real
R
automatic
Double
D
automatic
Complex Numeric
X
1 to 14
Logical
L
automatic
Character
C
1 to 250
Scale
0 to 31
For a detailed explanation of each data type, see Database Definition and Development,
“Fields.”
189
Some sample FIND commands that change the data type of a table column are
FIND TEMP VALUES AVG(SALARY):P10.2 FROM EMPLOYEE
FIND TEMP VALUES SALARY+500:P10.2 AS SAL_AND_BONUS FROM +
EMPLOYEE
FIND TEMP VALUES ZIP:I FROM CLIENT
Example
In a previous example you found the maximum earnings of salesmen by adding their
salary and commission together:
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY+COMM) FROM EMPLOYEE +
WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
For the sake of simplicity, that example’s display showed the column values in exact
decimal format. However, in actuality, if you entered the above FIND command and
displayed the table, the system would present the column values in scientific notation, as
shown below:
TYPE *
F001
-----------------------------------0.3500000000000000000000000000E+0004
To change the data type format to exact decimal with a precision of 10 and a scale of 2,
you could enter the following FIND command:
data type
symbol
precision
scale
FIND TEMP VALUES MAX(SALARY+COMM):P10.2 FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE +
JOB = 'SALESMAN'
The display for this table would look similar to the following:
TYPE *
F001
------3500.00
190 
Eliminating Duplicate Rows in Tables (DISTINCT)
Typically, when the system creates a table, each piece of specified information from the
view makes up one row of the table. At times, one row will contain the same information
as another row. For instance, if you create a table that contains only the values from the
DNO field of records in the EMPLOYEE view, many rows will have the same department
number. To eliminate this type of duplication, you can use the DISTINCT modifier.
The DISTINCT modifier can be entered in any of the FIND syntax variations for creating
a table shown in the previous sections of this chapter. Place the DISTINCT modifier
right after the word FIND and before the table name.
Note: If you don’t specify the DISTINCT modifier in your FIND command, the system
defaults to the ALL modifier, which supplies as many rows for a table as needed to
accommodate all the specified information from the view.
Example
Suppose you want to find out all the possible jobs one can have at the travel agency that
owns the TOUR database. You could retrieve all the records and display the values in
their JOB fields. However, since many employees have the same job, there would be
many jobs repeated in the display. You would have to check manually through the
display to narrow the jobs down to the basic occupations.
You can obtain the same information by executing the following FIND command:
FIND DISTINCT TEMP VALUES JOB FROM EMPLOYEE
The system creates a table containing the data from the JOB field of records in the
EMPLOYEE view and eliminates any duplicate rows. Executing the TYPE command
displays the following:
JOB
-----------------------ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CLERK
MANAGER
OPERATOR
PRESIDENT
PROGRAMMER
SALESMAN
SECRETARY
VICE-PRESIDENT
191
192 