Panorama > Formulas > Database Functions
 
datatype(
datatype(
NAME
)

The datatype( function determines what kind of data is in a field or variable: text, number, etc.

Parameters

This function has one parameter:

name – is the name of the field or variable that you want to determine the type of.

Description

The function returns the type of data from this list: Text, Integer, Float, Binary, Date or Choice.

Here’s an example which checks the AreaCode variable. If it is text, it converts it into a number.

if datatype("AreaCode")="Text"
    AreaCode=val(AreaCode)
endif

Note: The Choice and Date types can only occur if the datatype( function is used with a field as the parameter. Variables cannot contain data of these types (for a date, the data type is Integer).

Note: Panorama 6 and earlier also used Fixed Point data types. These are no longer used.

Note: Panorama 6 and earlier returned Floating Point instead of Float.

History

VersionStatusNotes
10.0UpdatedCarried over from Panorama 6.0, but now quoting the field or variable name is optional. Also, the function may now return these values: Text, Integer, Float, Binary, Date or Choice.