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Preprocessing functions

Last Updated:2026-04-13 06:25:29  Updated
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You can configure a preprocessing function for each column when you define a control file.

Usage notes

  • For a preprocessing function configured for a column, only the values of the current column can be used as formal parameters. For example, c14 "concat(c15, '_suffix')" is not supported, and c15 "concat(c15, '_suffix')" is supported.

  • LPADB() and RPADB() are suitable for processing characters such as letters and numbers. It may be truncated when you use it to process emojis.

  • REPLACE() is used differently in Oracle and MySQL modes. It has the syntax that is similar to an Oracle function but is implemented like a MySQL function.

  • NVL() refers to the corresponding built-in function in MySQL. It distinguishes an empty character from NULL in implementation.

  • For preprocessing functions related to date and time, such as SYSTIMESTAMP, TMSFMT(), and TO_TIMESTAMP(), the value is accurate only to milliseconds. In addition, the server clock must be the same as that of the database.

  • LPAD(char,length[,pad_string]) and RPAD(char,length[,pad_string]) refer to the corresponding built-in functions of MySQL. The length parameter indicates the total length of the return value that is displayed on the client. In most cases, it displays the actual number of characters in the return value. However, for some multibyte character sets, the displayed length of a string may differ from the actual length. Therefore, we recommend that you do not use this function to process multibyte values.

Functions

The following table describes the preprocessing functions supported in the current version.

Function signature Return type Description
LOWER(char) String Converts letters in a parameter value to lowercase letters. The parameter value can be a column name, constant, or function expression. If the parameter value is a constant, quote it with single quotation marks (' ').
Example: LOWER('A').
LTRIM(char[,set]) String Matches and truncates a parameter value from left to right. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The value of the set parameter is a constant. By default, if the set parameter is omitted, its value is replaced with a space.
Example: LTRIM(' abc ').
RTRIM(char[,set]) String Matches and truncates a parameter value from right to left. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. The value of the set parameter is a constant. By default, if the set parameter is omitted, its value is replaced with a space.
Example: RTRIM(' abc ').
SUBSTR(char,position[,length]) String Truncates a parameter value based on the specified start position and length. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. The values of the position and length parameters are numeric constants.
Example: SUBSTR('abc',0,3).
TRIM(char) String Truncates leading and trailing spaces of a parameter value. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression.
Example: TRIM(' abc ').
REVERSE(char) String Reverses parameter values.
Example: REVERSE("C1") reverses characters in each value of the C1 column.
UPPER(char) String Converts letters in a parameter value to uppercase letters. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. If the parameter value is a constant, quote it with single quotation marks (' ').
Example: UPPER('a').
NANVL(char, default) String Verifies whether a parameter value is a number. If not, the default value is returned. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The value of the default parameter is a constant.
Example: NANVL('1','1').
REPLACE(char,search[,replacement]) String Replaces a parameter value based on the specified search condition. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. The values of the search and replacement parameters are constants.
Example: REPLACE('abc','a','A').
NVL(char, default) String Verifies whether a parameter value is left empty. If yes, the default value is returned. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The value of the default parameter is a constant.
Example: NVL('a','--').
TO_TIMESTAMP(char,fmt1[,fmt2]) String Converts a parameter value into a date. If the conversion fails, NULL is returned. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. The value of the fmt1 parameter is a date parsing template. The value of the optional fmt2 parameter is a date formatting template.
Default format of the return value of fmt2: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS.
LENGTH(char) String Calculates the length of a parameter value. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression.
LPAD(char,length[,pad_string]) String Appends a character string of the specified length to the left of a parameter value. If the specified length is smaller than the length of the parameter value, the parameter value is truncated. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The values of the length and pad_string parameters are constants. In addition, the value of the pad_string parameter must be a single-byte character.
Example: LPAD('a',1,'x').
RPAD(char,length[,pad_string]) String Appends a character string of the specified length to the right of a parameter value. If the specified length is smaller than the length of the parameter value, the parameter value is truncated. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The values of the length and pad_string parameters are constants. In addition, the value of the pad_string parameter must be a single-byte character.
Example: RPAD('a',1,'x').
CONVERT(char,charset1[,charset2]) String Converts the character set of a parameter value. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, constant, or function expression. The values of the charset1 and charset2 parameters are constants.
Example: CONVERT('a','utf-8','gbk').
CONCAT(char1,char2) String Concatenates parameter values. The values of the char1 and char2 parameters can be a column name, constant, or function expression.
Example: CONCAT('a','b').
NONE String Returns a parameter value without processing it.
SYSTIMESTAMP String Returns the timestamp of the current server without processing the parameter value.
Default format: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS.
SYSDATE String Returns the date on the current server without processing the parameter value.
Default format: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.
CONSTANT(char) String Returns a defined constant value without processing it. The value of the char parameter is a constant.
Example: CONSTANT('1').
TMSFMT(char,fmt1,default,fmt2) String Validates the date format of a parameter. If the validation fails, the default date format is returned.
Example: TMSFMT(c1,'yyyyMMddHHmmssSSS','2021-03-10 00:00:00.000','yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS').
LPADB(char,byte_size[,pad_char]) String Appends a byte string of the specified length to the left of a parameter value. If the specified length is smaller than the length of the parameter value, the parameter value is truncated. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The values of the byte_size and pad_char parameters are constants.
Example: LPADB('a',1,'x').
RPADB(char,byte_size[,pad_char]) String Appends a byte string of the specified length to the right of a parameter value. If the specified length is smaller than the length of the parameter value, the parameter value is truncated. The value of the char parameter can be a column name, a constant, or a function expression. The values of the byte_size and pad_char parameters are constants.
Example: RPADB('a',1,'x').
MASK(string str[, string upper[, string lower[, string number]]]) String Masks uppercase letters, lowercase letters, or numbers in a field value.
Example: MASK("C1",A,a,b) masks the values of Column C1 by replacing uppercase letters with A, lowercase letters with a, and numbers with b.
MASK_FIRST_N(string str[, int n]) String Masks the first n characters in a field value.
Example: MASK_FIRST_N("C1",'A','a','b',5) masks the first five characters in the values of Column C1 by replacing uppercase letters with A, lowercase letters with a, and numbers with b.
MASK_LAST_N(string str[, int n]) String Masks the last n characters in a field value.
Example: MASK_LAST_N("C1",'A','a','b',5) masks the last five characters in the values of Column C1 by replacing uppercase letters with A, lowercase letters with a, and numbers with b.
MASK_SHOW_FIRST_N(string str[, int n]) String Masks all characters except the first n characters in a field value.
Example: MASK_SHOW_FIRST_N("C1",'A','a','b',5) masks all characters except the first five characters in the values of Column C1 by replacing uppercase letters with A, lowercase letters with a, and numbers with b.
MASK_SHOW_LAST_N(string str[, int n]) String Masks all characters except the last n characters in a field value.
Example: MASK_SHOW_LAST_N("C1",'A','a','b',5) masks all characters except the last five characters in the values of Column C1 by replacing uppercase letters with A, lowercase letters with a, and numbers with b.
SEQUENCE(int m,int n) String Generates an incremental sequence for a specified column. The parameter m specifies the start value and n specifies the increment step.
Example: SEQUENCE(100,1) generates a sequence with a start value of 100 and an increment step of 1.

Notice

The groovy dynamic function is no longer supported in OBDUMPER V3.x.

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