DIGIT( ) function
Returns the upper or lower digit of a specified Packed data type byte.
Syntax
DIGIT(byte_location, position)
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| byte_location | numeric |
The byte position in the record. |
| position | numeric |
The digit to return:
|
Output
Numeric.
Examples
Basic examples
A packed field with the value 123.45 (00 12 34 5C), containing two decimals, and starting in byte position 10, appears in the data record in the following format:
| Byte 10 | Byte 11 | Byte 12 | Byte 13 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPPER(1) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| LOWER(2) | 0 | 2 | 4 | C |
Returns 3 (finds the digit that appears in the 12th position in the upper half of the byte):
DIGIT(12, 1)
Returns 4 (finds digit that appears in the 12th position in the lower half of the byte):
DIGIT(12, 2)
Remarks
How it works
DIGIT( ) separates individual halves of a byte, and returns the value of the byte specified in the position parameter as a digit between 0 and 15.
When to use DIGIT( )
Use DIGIT( ) to access individual half-bytes. This is required if you work with applications that use half-byte-aligned packed fields, such as Unisys applications.
