SQL Functions & Stored Procedures: A Practical Guide for the i5/iSeries Programmer

Stored procedures and built-in functions can greatly expand the power and usefulness of SQL, but surprisingly these highly useful tools remain untapped by many programmers. For programmers who are new to the subject or those who want to expand on what they already know, this book provides a terrific introduction to the creation and use of built-in functions and stored procedures under OS/400 and i5/OS. But what are they? Built-in functions are a part of practically every programming language and can be a big boost to productivity by identifying and isolating functions that need to be executed repeatedly. SQL makes particularly good use of its built-in functions. Stored procedures are programs that can be called from within SQL-and other programming languages, such as RPG-to process entire datasets. This book will put you on the fast track to using and writing both effectively. After you learn the basics of these powerful tools, you?ll go on to explore some of the stored procedures and functions included with SQL on the iSeries as part of OS/400 and i5/OS. Author Mike Faust even explains the process of developing custom built-in functions for your own use and has included a stored procedure that can be used to create a crosstab or pivot table representation of supplied data. This book is the tool you need to boost the power of your i5/OS SQL programming skills. With SQL Built-In Functions and Stored Procedures, you will: - Discover how to perform routine maintenance functions, such as copying a file or rebuilding an existing table without losing the data in the existing table. - Learn how to build data files, modify a library list, and compile programs. - Practice using example programs that not only teach, but also make excellent additions to any programmer's library. - Learn how to use 11 different functions, including functions to edit numeric values for print with commas, decimal points, and currency symbols; a function that returns the distance in miles between two ZIP codes; functions to convert date and currency to a text string and more. - Gain access to complete code on the Web for each function, which you can use directly in your own programs.