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Home Menu > Operations
The creation or modification screens are similar, they list all the properties of the function. In the case of a standard function, the properties can be viewed, but not modified.
The easiest way to write a function is to duplicate a standard function and adapt it.
Types of Operation
- Manipulation of character strings, e.g. replacing a character.
- Manipulation of date, for example adding a number of days.
- Manipulation of numeric data, e.g. obtaining the absolute value of a number.
- Conversion operation, e.g. IfThenElse.
- Grouping operation, for example, the average.
Operation name
Returned Type
- String of Character
- Digital
- Date
Some operations (for example, grouping operations) can return different types of data depending on the type of parameters given to them. For example:
- Min( <Date> ) ⇒ <Date>
- Min( <Digital> ) ⇒ Digital
This can be done by defining a returned type identical to the first or last parameter entered.
Parameter type
There is no limitation on the number of parameters. Each parameter can be of 3 types:
- String of characters
- Digital Numérique
- Date
Some operations can use different types of parameters (e.g. grouping operations). In this case, it is possible to specify that the parameter in question can correspond to “Any type”.
Some operations may not have an input parameter (e.g. DateCur).
Symbol
This is the operation ID, as you will see it in Designer when you add an operation in the report.
Description
Appears alongside the operation ID when adding an operation.
Preview
The preview is used (for example) in the query summary to display the operation and the parameters it uses. The preview can contain sequences of 3 # (###) which will be replaced by the contents of the parameters (in the order in which they were entered at the operation definition level).
Syntax
For each operation, it is possible to define syntaxes for several types of databases.
When creating a query, the user only sees the operations that have a syntax for the database used by the query.
If the syntax is the same for all database types, it is possible to define it only once by selecting Common to all databases.
By selecting a syntax line and then clicking on Modify…, you open the input screen itself.
Each input parameter of the operation is referenced by a sequence of 3 # (###) followed by the order of appearance of the parameter in the list of input parameters (Ex: ###1, ###2, etc…).
A parameter can appear several times in a syntax.
User file update
Changes to functions are saved in a temporary file. They will be visible in Vigilens only after having updated the user file (“File \Update user file” menu).
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