Re: Beating the 255 variable DECODE fn - 8.1.6

a simple workaround to the limit on the number of arguments in a decode statement is to include another decode as the default expression, e.g.

decode(myexpr,val1,ret1,val2,ret2,decode(myexpr,val3,ret3,val4,ret4,NULL))

if you are doing this in PL/SQL, then it might be easier to maintain two PL/SQL tables, one for the list arguments and one for the list of associated return values, and write code to perform a lookup.

if you need to do this in SQL, then another alternative to consider would be to create a "lookup" table with the two columns (one with the argument, one with the return value), and perform a join.

HTH <josn_at_my-deja.com> wrote in message news:93nfmb$nfo$1_at_nnrp1.deja.com...
> Hello,
> I am a newbie in PL/SQL and one task I am trying to accomplish
> is "transpose" data in a table to a view for reporting purposes. The
> data is stored in the format
>
> Name Value
> -----------------------
> IssueID 1000
> Assigned to Fred
> .....
> IssueID 1001
> .....
>
> I have successfully managed to use DECODE to transpose it but I am
> running into the 255 variable limit. Does anyone have a possible
> workaround to this apart from splitting the DECODE into 2 views then
> creating a third view to join them?
>
> Thanks,
> -Jos
>
>
> Sent via Deja.com
> http://www.deja.com/
Received on Sat Jan 13 2001 - 15:04:50 CST