Constants

A constant (also called a literal) specifies a value. Constants are classified as string constants or numeric constants. String constants are further classified as character or graphic. Numeric constants are further classified as integer, floating point, or decimal.

All constants have the attribute NOT NULL. A negative sign in a numeric constant with a value of zero is ignored.

Integer constants

An integer constant specifies an integer as a signed or unsigned number with a maximum of 19 digits that does not include a decimal point. The data type of an integer constant is large integer if its value is within the range of a large integer. The data type of an integer constant is big integer if its value is outside the range of a large integer, but within the range of a big integer. A constant that is defined outside the range of big integer values is considered a decimal constant.

Examples

64       -15      +100         32767     720176     12345678901

In syntax diagrams, the term integer is used for a large integer constant that must not include a sign.

Floating-point constants

A floating-point constant specifies a double-precision floating-point number as two numbers separated by an E. The first number can include a sign and a decimal point; the second number can include a sign but not a decimal point. The value of the constant is the product of the first number and the power of 10 specified by the second number; it must be within the range of floating-point numbers. The number of characters in the constant must not exceed 24. Excluding leading zeros, the number of digits in the first number must not exceed 17 and the number of digits in the second must not exceed 3.

Examples

15E1     2.E5     2.2E-1      +5.E+2

Decimal constants

A decimal constant specifies a decimal number as a signed or unsigned number that consists of no more than 63 digits. The constant must either:

Include a decimal point, or
Be larger than 2147483647 or smaller than -2147483647

The precision is the total number of digits (including leading and trailing zeros); the scale is the number of digits to the right of the decimal point (including trailing zeros).

If the precision of the decimal constant is greater than the largest decimal precision and the scale is not greater than the largest decimal precision, then leading zeroes to the left of the decimal point are eliminated to reduce the precision to the largest decimal precision.

Examples

25.5     1000.     -15.     +37589.3333333333     12345678901

Character-string constants

A character-string constant specifies a varying-length character string. The two forms of character-string constant follow:

A sequence of characters that starts and ends with a string delimiter. The number of bytes between the string delimiters cannot be greater than 32740. Two consecutive string delimiters are used to represent one string delimiter within the character string. Two consecutive string delimiters that are not contained within a string represent the empty string.
An X followed by a sequence of characters that starts and ends with a string delimiter. The characters between the string delimiters must be an even number of hexadecimal digits. Blanks between the string delimiters are ignored. The number of hexadecimal digits must not exceed 32762. A hexadecimal digit is a digit or any of the letters A through F (uppercase or lowercase). Under the conventions of hexadecimal notation, each pair of hexadecimal digits represents a character. This form of string constant allows you to specify characters that do not have a keyboard representation.

Character-string constants can contain mixed data. If the job CCSID supports mixed data, a character-string constant is classified as mixed data if it includes a DBCS substring. In all other cases, a character-string constant is classified as SBCS data.

The CCSID assigned to the constant is the CCSID of the source containing the constant unless the source is encoded in a foreign encoding scheme (such as ASCII). The data in the variable is converted from the foreign encoding scheme to the default CCSID of the current server. In this case, the CCSID assigned to the constant is the default CCSID of the current server.

The CCSID of the source is determined by the application requester. The CCSID of the source is:

For STRSQL, the default CCSID of the application requester
For the RUNSQLSTM or STRREXPRC commands, the CCSID of the specified source file
For CRTSQLxxx:
- For static SQL, the CCSID of the source is the CCSID of the source file used on the CRTSQLxxx command.
- For dynamic SQL, the CCSID of the source is the CCSID of the variable specified on the PREPARE statement, or if a string constant is specified on the PREPARE statement, the default CCSID of the current server.

Character-string constants are used to represent constant datetime values in assignments and comparisons. For more information see String representations of datetime values.

Examples

   'Peggy'     '14.12.1990'     '32'     'DON''T CHANGE'     ''     X'FFFF'

Graphic-string constants

DBCS graphic-string constants

A graphic-string constant is a varying-length graphic string. The length of the specified string cannot be greater than 16370. The three forms of DBCS graphic-string constants are:

In the normal form, the SQL delimiters and the G or the N are SBCS characters. The SBCS ' is the EBCDIC apostrophe, X'7D'.

In the PL/I form, the apostrophes and the G are DBCS characters. Two consecutive DBCS string delimiters are used to represent one string delimiter within the string. Note that this PL/I form is only valid for static statements embedded in PL/I programs.

A hexadecimal DBCS graphic constant is also supported. The form of the hexadecimal DBCS graphic constant is:

GX'ssss'

In the constant, ssss represents a string from 0 to 32760 hexadecimal digits. The number of characters between the string delimiters must be an even multiple of 4. Blanks between the string delimiters are ignored. Each group of 4 digits represents a single DBCS graphic character. The hexadecimal for shift-in and shift-out ('0E'X and '0F'X) are not included in the string.

The CCSID assigned to constants is the DBCS CCSID associated with the CCSID of the source unless the source is encoded in a foreign encoding scheme (such as ASCII). In this case, the CCSID assigned to the constant is the DBCS CCSID associated with the default CCSID of the current server when the SQL statement containing the constant is prepared. If there is no DBCS CCSID associated with the CCSID of the source, the CCSID is 65535.

For information on associated DBCS CCSIDs, see the Globalization DBCS CCSIDs topic in the iSeries Information Center. For information on the CCSID of the source, see Character String Constants.

UTF-16 graphic-string constants

A hexadecimal UTF-16 (or UCS-2) graphic constant is supported. The form of the hexadecimal UTF-16 graphic constant is:

UX'ssss'

In the constant, ssss represents a string from 0 to 32760 hexadecimal digits. The number of characters between the string delimiters must be an even multiple of 4. Blanks between the string delimiters are ignored. Each group of 4 or more digits represents a single UTF-16 graphic character.

The CCSID of a UTF-16 constant is 1200.

Binary-string constants

A binary-string constant specifies a varying-length binary string. The form of a binary-string constant follows:

An X followed by a sequence of characters that starts and ends with a string delimiter. The characters between the string delimiters must be an even number of hexadecimal digits. Blanks between the string delimiters are ignored. The number of hexadecimal digits must not exceed 32740. A hexadecimal digit is a digit or any of the letters A through F (uppercase or lowercase).

The CCSID assigned to the constant is 65535.

Note that the syntax of a binary string constant is identical to the second form of a character constant. A constant of this form is only treated as a binary string constant if:

The SET OPTION statement was specified with the binary string option (SQLCURRULE = *STD),
the SQLCURRULE(*STD) parameter was specified on the CRTSQLxxx or RUNSQLSTM command, or
the SQL rules option was specified on the Change Session Attributes panel of Interactive SQL.

Example

   X'FFFF'

Datetime constants

A datetime constant specifies a date, time, or timestamp. Typically, character-string constants are used to represent constant datetime values in assignments and comparisons. However, the ANSI/ISO SQL standard form of a datetime constant can be used to specifically denote the constant as a datetime constant instead of a character-string constant. For more information see String representations of datetime values.

Example

   DATE '2003-09-03'

Decimal point

The default decimal point can be specified:

To interpret numeric constants
To determine the decimal point character to use when casting a character string to a number (for example, in the DECIMAL, DOUBLE_PRECISION, FLOAT, and REAL scalar functions and the CAST specification)
to determine the decimal point character to use in the result when casting a number to a string (for example, in the CHAR, VARCHAR, CLOB, GRAPHIC, and VARGRAPHIC scalar functions and the CAST specification)

The default decimal point can be specified through the following interfaces:

Table 22. Default Decimal Point Interfaces
SQL Interface	Specification
Embedded SQL	The JOB, PERIOD, COMMA, or SYSVAL value in the OPTION parameter is specified on the Create SQL Program (CRTSQLxxx) commands. The SET OPTION statement can also be used to specify the DECMPT parameter within the source of a program containing embedded SQL. (For more information about CRTSQLxxx commands, see the Embedded SQL Programming book.)
Interactive SQL and Run SQL Statements	The DECPNT parameter on the Start SQL (STRSQL) command or by changing the session attributes. The DECMPT parameter on the Run SQL Statements (RUNSQLSTM) command. (For more information about STRSQL and RUNSQLSTM commands, see the SQL Programming book.)
Call Level Interface (CLI) on the server	SQL_ATTR_DATE_FMT and SQL_ATTR_DATE_SEP environment or connection variables (For more information about CLI, see the SQL Call Level Interfaces (ODBC) book.)
JDBC or SQLJ on the server using IBM® Developer Kit for Java	Decimal Separator conneciton property (For more information about JDBC and SQLJ, see the IBM Developer Kit for Java™ topic in the iSeries Information Center.)
ODBC on a client using the iSeries Access Family ODBC Driver	Decimal Separator in the Advanced Server Options in ODBC Setup (For more information about ODBC, see the iSeries™ Access category in the iSeries Information Center.)
JDBC on a client using the IBM Toolbox for Java	Format in JDBC Setup (For more information about ODBC, see the iSeries Access category in the iSeries Information Center.) (For more information about the IBM Toolbox for Java, see IBM Toolbox for Java topic in the iSeries Information Center .)

If the comma is the decimal point, the following rules apply:

A period will also be allowed as a decimal point.
A comma intended as a separator of numeric constants in a list must be followed by a space.
A comma intended as a decimal point must not be followed by a space.

Thus, to specify a decimal constant without a fractional part, the trailing comma must be followed by a non-blank character. The non-blank character can be a separator comma, as in:

   VALUES(9999999999,, 111)

Delimiters

*APOST and *QUOTE are mutually exclusive COBOL precompiler options that name the string delimiter within COBOL statements. *APOST names the apostrophe (') as the string delimiter; *QUOTE names the quotation mark ("). *APOSTSQL and *QUOTESQL are mutually exclusive COBOL precompiler options that play a similar role for SQL statements embedded in COBOL programs. *APOSTSQL names the apostrophe (') as the SQL string delimiter; with this option, the quotation mark (") is the SQL escape character. *QUOTESQL names the quotation mark as the SQL string delimiter; with this option, the apostrophe is the SQL escape character. The values of *APOSTSQL and *QUOTESQL are respectively the same as the values of *APOST and *QUOTE.

In host languages other than COBOL, the usages are fixed. The string delimiter for the host language and for static SQL statements is the apostrophe ('); the SQL escape character is the quotation mark (").

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