MATBUILD

The MATBUILD statement is used to create a dynamic array out of a dimensioned array.

COMMAND SYNTAX

MATBUILD variable FROM array{, expression1{, expression2}} {USING expression3}

SYNTAX ELEMENTS

variable is the jBC variable into which the created dynamic array will be stored. Array is a previously dimensioned and assigned matrix from which the dynamic array will be created. expression1 and expression2 should evaluate to numeric integers. expression1 specifies which element of the array the extraction will start with; expression2 specifies which element of the array the extraction will end with (inclusive).

By default, each array element is separated in the dynamic array by a field mark. By specifying expression3, the separator character can be changed. If expression3 evaluates to more than a single character, only the first character of the string is used.

NOTES

When specifying start and end positions with multi-dimensional arrays, it is necessary to expand the matrix into its total number of variables to calculate the correct element number. See the information about dimensioned arrays earlier in this chapter for detailed instructions on calculating element numbers.

EXAMPLES

DIM A(40)
MATBUILD Dynamic FROM A,3,7 USING ":"
Builds a 5 element string separated by a : character.

MATBUILD Dynamic FROM A
Builds a field mark separated dynamic array from every element contained in the matrix A.

jBC