Use of Constants

Most of the macro function parameters can take numeric constants or expressions evaluating to a numeric constant (macro functions operating on strings can take string constants).

In macro functions performing record-by-record operations (for example, adding two numeric columns), using a constant is equivalent to specifying a column containing that constant value in each row. Essentially, when a constant is provided as an input parameter, the constant is expanded to same length as the input.

Some macro functions can take ASCII text strings and numeric constants. Parameters that can accept both numeric constants and ASCII text strings are noted in the "Parameters" section of each macro function.

Examples are provided in the following table.

Function Definition How the Constant Is Interpreted
PERCENT_UTILIZ = (CURR_BAL*100)/ CREDIT_LIM The constant 100 is interpreted as a column containing the same number of rows as the column CURR_BAL, with each row containing the constant 100. The derived field PERCENT_UTILIZ will contain each value of CURR_BAL multiplied by 100 and divided by each value of CREDIT_LIM.
NAME = STRING_CONCAT ("Mr. ", LAST_NAME) The constant "Mr." is interpreted as a column containing the same number of rows as the column LAST_NAME, with each row containing the constant "Mr.". The derived field NAME will contain each of the text strings in LAST_NAME prefaced by "Mr.".