P Code - Pattern Matching

The P code returns a value if it matches one of the specified patterns. Patterns can be combinations of numeric and alphabetic characters and literal strings.

If the value does not match any of the patterns, the processor returns null.

Input Conversion

Input conversion does not invert.  It simply applies the pattern matching to the input data.

Syntax

P(element){;(element)}...

Syntax Elements

element is one or more of the following forms:

nNtests for n numeric characters.

nAtests for n alphabetic characters.

nXtests for n characters.

'literal'tests for the presence of the literal.

Example of Single Pattern

The code P(3N'-'2N'-'4N) tests for data that has three numerics, a hyphen, two numerics, a hyphen, and four numerics. The processor returns data that matches this pattern exactly:

Data	Result
123-45-6789	123-45-6789
ABC456
ASD-34-4567
123-45-67890
783-49-7263	783-49-7263
W3-45-67J3

Example of Multiple Patterns

The following tests for one of three patterns: P(1N3A3N);(3A3N);(3N3A). The processor returns any value that matches any one of these patterns:

Data	Result
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
1ABC234	1ABC234
ABC456	ABC456
0987654321
123VBN	123VBN
WDV648	WDV648
3EDC000	3EDC000
471CIS	471CIS
76TYHIU6T
1A2B3C4D
6KJS947	6KJS947