Re: C++ or C sample for OCI wanted

From: Thomas Kyte <tkyte_at_us.oracle.com>
Date: 1997/10/24
Message-ID: <345a01d0.197773072@newshost>#1/1

Just a note of caution on this method below. NO CHECKING is done on the validity of the date when you bind it for input. From the oci manual:

<quote>
When you input a date in binary format using the DATE external datatype, the database does not do consistency or range checking. All data in this format must be carefully validated before input.

Note: There is little need to use the Oracle external DATE datatype in ordinary database operations. It is much more convenient to convert DATEs in character format, because the program usually displays (on a query) or inputs in a character format, such as ‘DD–MON–YY’.
</quote>

In short, you can input total garbage into a date field using the method below. I recommend using CHARACTER strings and to_date() for all input/output operations on dates to prevent errors.

On Fri, 24 Oct 1997 15:25:01 -0400, "edwards@"@garland.dnr.state.sc.us wrote:

>Uwe Hildebrandt wrote:
>>
>> I started programming with C++ with OCI (on Windows NT and VC++ 5.0)
>> and I fight with the DATE type. I am not able to store data with the
>> obndnr C-function with the DATE type.
>>
>> Uwe
>
>Well, I dont know anything about VC++ or windows, but heres how I store
>DATE type data
>in ASNI C
>
>* Oracle stores dates in a 7 byte format
>which is easier to manipulate in a union
>
>typedef union _oradate{
> char oracle[7];
> struct _date date;
>};
>
>typedef struct _date{
> unsigned char century;
> unsigned char year;
> unsigned char month;
> unsigned char day;
> unsigned char hour;
> unsigned char minute;
> unsigned char second;
>};
>
>
>*So if you wanted to store a date of October 24,1997 21:00:00
>you would do this:
>
>oradate.date.century = 100+19 // you have to add 100
>oradate.date.year = 100+97; // you have to add 100
>oradate.date.month = 10;
>oradate.date.day = 24;
>oradate.date.hour = 1+21; // you have to add 1
>oradate.date.minute = 1+0; // you have to add 1
>oradate.date.second=1+0; // you have to add 1
>
>obndrv(&cda,(text *) ":OBSERVE_DATE",(sword) -1,(ub1 *)oradate->oracle,
> (sword)7,(sword) SQLT_DAT,(sword) -1,&indp,(text *) NULL,
> (sword) -1,(sword) -1));
>
>// SQLT_DAT is defined in 'ocidfn.h' as 12
>
>
>Hope this helps
>
>-Steve Edwards
>-SCDNR
  Thomas Kyte
tkyte_at_us.oracle.com
Oracle Government
Bethesda MD  

http://govt.us.oracle.com/ -- downloadable utilities  

---

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