TRANSFORM()

    TRANSFORM() allows formatting of character and numeric data
    without using the @...SAY command.

Syntax

    TRANSFORM(<exp>,<exp C>)

Arguments

    <exp> is the character, date, or numeric expression to format.

    <expC> identifies the format of the returned character string.

Returns

    A character string.

    TRANSFORM() takes the result of an expression of any data type and
    returns a formatted character string according to the template
    specified by <expC>.  Note that since TRANSFORM() returns a character
    string, it does not solve the problem of formatting a totalled field in
    a REPORT FORM.

Usage

    TRANSFORM() allows you to format character, date, or numeric
    expressions in the same way you would with @...PICTURE converting each
    to a character string matching the specified format.  The following is
    a complete list of functions and templates that TRANSFORM() supports.
    Refer to @..PICTURE for a complete discussion on how the picture
    functions and templates work.

                             TRANSFORM FUNCTIONS

    Function     Action

       B         Displays numbers left-justified
       C         Displays CR (credit) after positive numbers
       D         Displays dates in SET DATE format
       E         Displays dates in British format
       R         Non-template characters are inserted
       X         Displays DB (debit) after negative numbers
       Z         Displays zeros as blanks
       (         Encloses negative numbers in parentheses w/ leading spaces
       !         Converts alphabetic characters to upper case

                             TRANSFORM TEMPLATES

    Template    Description

    A,N,X,9,#   Displays digits for any data type
       L        Displays logicals as "T" or "F"
       Y        Displays logicals as "Y" or "N"
       !        Converts an alphabetic character to upper case
       $        Displays a dollar sign in place of a leading space in a
                numeric
       *        Displays an asterisk in place of a leading space in a
                numeric
       .        Specifies a decimal point position.
       ,        Specifies a comma position.