Re: question about string matching with trailing blanks

yes, rtrim is necessary as Oracle will try to find exact match in this case and 'LABOR' is different from 'LABOR ' because they're of different length. Also, if 'LABOR' is the only value you're checking for, and you are sure you want to include all words *starting* with it (like 'LABORATORY') you might want to issue

select * from a where dept like 'LABOR%'

with % being substitution char for any number of any trailing characters, including none.

-- 
Vladimir Zakharychev (bob@dpsp-yes.com)                http://www.dpsp-yes.com
Dynamic PSP(tm) - the first true RAD toolkit for Oracle-based internet applications.
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"Gary Beckler" <gbeckler_at_easystreet.com> wrote in message news:tpkcv1juhqk2e_at_corp.supernews.com...


> In the code below how does Oracle match on field with trailing spaces?

> 

> create table a (

>  dept char(6) );

> 

>  insert into a values ('LABOR      ');

> 

>  select * from a where dept IN 'LABOR';

> 

> Does "dept" match "LABOR"?  Is the "rtrim" function necessary?

> 

> 

> 

>