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Tom Deskevich wrote:
I am creating an import file and the person receiving it
wants a null when the field is blank. I am truncating all
blanks. But I send her " ". The help references a null,
but does not seem to apply to what I want.

CPYTOIMPF FROMFILE(LTCFILE) TOSTMF(&FILE) + MBROPT(*REPLACE) STMFCCSID(*PCASCII) + RCDDLM(*CR) RMVBLANK(*BOTH)

To export the database NULL value, the datum must be the NULL value [i.e. the column indicates there is no data for that row] versus a string of blanks or even the empty string.

An "empty string" is not the "database NULL value" even if sometimes called a "null string". IMO the RMVBLANK(*BOTH) should effect an "empty string" versus a single blank. However even that is probably still insufficient\undesirable for the recipient. Be sure to clarify if the recipient wants the "null character" instead, which typically means the character 0x00 [or written x'00']; i.e. to say that the recipient "wants a null" is not explicit enough IMO, although I would infer [or dare I say, /assume/] that their desire is that no delimiters nor any data would appear between the field delimiters. In my experience that is how a database import facility [e.g. CPYFRMIMPF] would expect to receive "the null value" from a text export. If they want the null character, they do not understand what a true "text" export is all about; i.e. 0x00 in the stream causes the output have a "binary" requirement.

One option is to create a VIEW over the LTCFILE. Make the VIEW return NULL for blanks in the field(s) of interest; e.g. using the CASE. Then when exporting, reference that VIEW as the FROMFILE. The export facility will not generate any value [no delimiters nor any data] between the field delimiters for a NULL value. So for example:

create table ltcfile (l date, t time, c char)
;
insert into ltcfile (c) values
('A'),(' '),('C'),(default),('')
;
create table ltcXfile as
(select a.*,'X' as X from ltcfile a)
with data
;
create view ltcfileVW (l, t, c) as
(select l, t, case when c<>'' then c end
from ltcfile )
;
create view ltcXfileVW (l, t, c, X) as
(select l, t, case when c<>'' then c end, X
from ltcXfile )
;

Although not truly effecting the NULL value as "no data between field delimiters", another option is to produce the export file without string delimiters; i.e. do not provide any string delimiter for the export request, by specifying STRDLM(*NONE) on the CPYTOIMPF. I do not recall the effect of the "remove blanks" setting without delimiters, but even if that effects only one versus several blanks between the field delimiters [e.g. a comma], whatever import facility used by the recipient may interpret the data as NULL for a null capable column; i.e. for lack of any standards for various formats, just test to see if ", ," is acceptable versus [in my experience is generally expected as] ",," which is the outcome for the NULL value on export.

Using the above example setup, compare the results of the following requests to see what happens for each export; note that the first two columns are the NULL value for all rows:

cpytoimpf fromfile(ltcfile) strdlm(*none)
cpytoimpf fromfile(ltcXfile) strdlm(*none)
cpytoimpf fromfile(ltcfileVW) /* strdlm(choose)*/
cpytoimpf fromfile(ltcXfileVW) /* strdlm(choose) */

Regards, Chuck

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