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SubField - script and chart function

SubField() is used to extract substring components from a parent string field, where the original record fields consist of two or more parts separated by a delimiter.

The Subfield() function can be used, for example, to extract first name and surname from a list of records consisting of full names, the component parts of a path name, or for extracting data from comma-separated tables.

If you use the Subfield() function in a LOAD statement with the optional field_no parameter left out, one full record will be generated for each substring. If several fields are loaded using Subfield() the Cartesian products of all combinations are created.

Syntax:  

SubField(text, delimiter[, field_no ])

Return data type: string

Arguments:  

Arguments
Argument Description
text The original string. This can be a hard-coded text, a variable, a dollar-sign expansion, or another expression.
delimiter A character within the input text that divides the string into component parts.
field_no

The optional third argument is an integer that specifies which of the substrings of the parent string text is to be returned. Use the value 1 to return the first substring, 2 to return the second substring, and so on.

  • If field_no is a positive value, substrings are extracted from left to right.
  • If field_no is a negative value, substrings are extracted from right to left.
Tip note SubField() can be used instead of using complex combinations of functions such as Len(), Right(), Left(), Mid(), and other string functions.

Examples: Script and chart expressions using SubField

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