This function returns a value corresponding to a timestamp of the first millisecond of the first day of the month containing date. The default output format will be the DateFormat set in the script.
Syntax:
MonthStart(date[, period_no])
Return data type: dual
Arguments:
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| date | The date to evaluate. |
| period_no | period_no is an integer, which, if 0 or omitted, indicates the month that contains date. Negative values in period_no indicate preceding months and positive values indicate succeeding months. |
Examples and results:
These examples use the date format DD/MM/YYYY. The date format is specified in the SET DateFormat statement at the top of your load script. Change the format in the examples to suit your requirements.
Example 1:
monthstart('19/10/2001')
Returns 01/10/2001.
Example 2:
monthstart('19/10/2001', -1)
Returns 01/09/2001.
Example 3:
Add the example script to your document and run it. Then add, at least, the fields listed in the results column to a sheet in your document to see the result.
This example finds the first day in the month of each invoice date in the table, where the base_date is shifted by four months by specifying period_no as 4.
TempTable:
LOAD RecNo() as InvID, * Inline [
InvDate
28/03/2012
10/12/2012
5/2/2013
31/3/2013
19/5/2013
15/9/2013
11/12/2013
2/3/2014
14/5/2014
13/6/2014
7/7/2014
4/8/2014
];
InvoiceData:
LOAD *,
MonthStart(InvDate, 4) AS MthStart
Resident TempTable;
Drop table TempTable;
The resulting table contains the original dates and a column with the return value of the monthstart() function. You can display the full timestamp by specifying the formatting in the chart properties.
| InvDate | MthStart |
|---|---|
| 28/03/2012 | 01/07/2012 |
| 10/12/2012 | 01/04/2013 |
| 5/2/2013 | 01/06/2013 |
| 31/3/2013 | 01/07/2013 |
| 19/5/2013 | 01/09/2013 |
| 15/9/2013 | 01/01/2014 |
| 11/12/2013 | 01/04/2014 |
| 2/3/2014 | 01/07/2014 |
| 14/5/2014 | 01/09/2014 |
| 13/6/2014 | 01/10/2014 |
| 7/7/2014 | 01/11/2014 |
| 4/8/2014 | 01/12/2014 |
