SQL/MP Reference Manual

HP NonStop SQL/MP Reference Manual—523352-013

O-4

OCTET_LENGTH Function

The OCTET_LENGTH function returns the length of a character string in bytes.

character-string

specifies the string for which the length is to be returned.

Considerations—OCTET LENGTH Function



SQL returns the result as a two-byte signed integer with a scale of zero.



If character-string is a null value, SQL returns a length of null.



For a column declared as a fixed CHAR, SQL returns the maximum length of that

column. For a VARCHAR column, SQL returns the actual length of the string

stored in that column.



The OCTET_LENGTH and CHAR_LENGTH functions are similar. The

CHAR_LENGTH function returns the number of characters in the string. The result

of both functions is the same for single-byte character data types. For multibyte

character data types, the two functions return different results.

Examples—OCTET LENGTH Function



This example returns the value 6:

OCTET_LENGTH ( "Robert")



This example returns the value 6:

OCTET_LENGTH ( _KANJI "abcdef")

OCTET_LENGTH (character-string)

where character-string is:

{string-literal }

{column-name }

{param-name }

{host-var-name }

{UPSHIFT function }

{character-expression}