RE: Blank vs. space (not null) from a database

Subject: RE: Blank vs. space (not null) from a database
From: "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>
To: "Jill Thompson-Weintraub" <jilltwfl -at- hotmail -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 10:03:40 -0600

Jill Thompson-Weintraub wrote:

> When referring to the empty contents of a field extracted
> from a database (the field is not a null), is it preferable
> to write, "... when the contents of some_field is blank, [the
> whatever will do something]", or "... when the contents of
> some_field is a space, [the whatever will do something]".

It sounds like you're talking about string fields (CHAR data type). Like
Chris, we speak of empty strings or string fields. But, note that a
field that contains a space isn't empty; it contains the
ASCII/ANSI/whatever value for the space character. If you retrieve an
empty string and put it between quotes, you get "". If you put a space
between quotes, you get " ". Better find out which you've got. :-)

Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------




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References:
Blank vs. space (not null) from a database: From: Jill Thompson-Weintraub

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