233 UTL_RAW

The UTL_RAW package provides SQL functions for manipulating RAW datatypes.

This chapter contains the following topics:

Using UTL_RAW

Overview

This package is necessary because normal SQL functions do not operate on RAWs, and PL/SQL does not allow overloading between a RAW and a CHAR datatype. UTL_RAW also includes subprograms that convert various COBOL number formats to, and from, RAWs.

UTL_RAW is not specific to the database environment, and it may actually be used in other environments. For this reason, the prefix UTL has been given to the package, instead of DBMS.

Operational Notes

UTL_RAW allows a RAW "record" to be composed of many elements. By using the RAW datatype, character set conversion will not be performed, keeping the RAW in its original format when being transferred through remote procedure calls.

With the RAW functions, you can manipulate binary data that was previously limited to the hextoraw and rawtohex functions.

Note:

Notes on data types:

  • The PLS_INTEGER and BINARY_INTEGER data types are identical. This document uses BINARY_INTEGER to indicate data types in reference information (such as for table types, record types, subprogram parameters, or subprogram return values), but may use either in discussion and examples.

  • The INTEGER and NUMBER(38) data types are also identical. This document uses INTEGER throughout.

Summary of UTL_RAW Subprograms

Table 233-1 UTL_RAW Package Subprograms

Subprogram Description

BIT_AND Function

Performs bitwise logical "and" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the "anded" result RAW

BIT_COMPLEMENT Function

Performs bitwise logical "complement" of the values in RAW r and returns the "complement'ed" result RAW

BIT_OR Function

Performs bitwise logical "or" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the "or'd" result RAW

BIT_XOR Function

Performs bitwise logical "exclusive or" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the "xor'd" result RAW

CAST_FROM_BINARY_DOUBLE Function

Returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_DOUBLE value

CAST_FROM_BINARY_FLOAT Function

Returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_FLOAT value

CAST_FROM_BINARY_INTEGER Function

Returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_INTEGER value

CAST_FROM_NUMBER Function

Returns the RAW binary representation of a NUMBER value

CAST_TO_BINARY_DOUBLE Function

Casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_DOUBLE into a BINARY_DOUBLE

CAST_TO_BINARY_FLOAT Function

Casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_FLOAT into a BINARY_FLOAT

CAST_TO_BINARY_INTEGER Function

Casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_INTEGER into a BINARY_INTEGER

CAST_TO_NUMBER Function

Casts the RAW binary representation of a NUMBER into a NUMBER

CAST_TO_NVARCHAR2 Function

Converts a RAW value into a VARCHAR2 value

CAST_TO_RAW Function

Converts a RAW value into an NVARCHAR2 value

CAST_TO_VARCHAR2 Function

Converts a VARCHAR2 value into a RAW value

COMPARE Function

Compares RAW r1 against RAW r2

CONCAT Function

Concatenates up to 12 RAWs into a single RAW

CONVERT Function

Converts RAW r from character set from_charset to character set to_charset and returns the resulting RAW

COPIES Function

Returns n copies of r concatenated together

LENGTH Function

Returns the length in bytes of a RAW r

OVERLAY Function

Overlays the specified portion of target RAW with overlay RAW, starting from byte position pos of target and proceeding for len bytes

REVERSE Function

Reverses a byte sequence in RAW r from end to end

SUBSTR Function

Returns len bytes, starting at pos from RAW r

TRANSLATE Function

Translates the bytes in the input RAW r according to the bytes in the translation RAWs from_set and to_set

TRANSLITERATE Function

Converts the bytes in the input RAW r according to the bytes in the transliteration RAWs from_set and to_set

XRANGE Function

Returns a RAW containing all valid 1-byte encodings in succession, beginning with the value start_byte and ending with the value end_byte

BIT_AND Function

This function performs bitwise logical "and" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the "anded" result RAW.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.BIT_AND (
   r1 IN RAW,
   r2 IN RAW) 
RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(bit_and, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-2 BIT_AND Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r1

RAW to "and" with r2

r2

RAW to "and" with r1

Return Values

Table 233-3 BIT_AND Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the "and" of r1 and r2

NULL

Either r1 or r2 input parameter was NULL

Usage Notes

If r1 and r2 differ in length, the and operation is terminated after the last byte of the shorter of the two RAWs, and the unprocessed portion of the longer RAW is appended to the partial result. The result length equals the longer of the two input RAWs.

BIT_COMPLEMENT Function

This function performs bitwise logical "complement" of the values in RAW r and returns the complement'ed result RAW. The result length equals the input RAW r length.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.BIT_COMPLEMENT (
   r IN RAW) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(bit_complement, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-4 BIT_COMPLEMENT Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW to perform "complement" operation

Return Values

Table 233-5 BIT_COMPLEMENT Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

The "complement" of r1

NULL

If r input parameter was NULL

BIT_OR Function

This function performs bitwise logical "or" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the or'd result RAW.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.BIT_OR (
   r1 IN RAW,
   r2 IN RAW) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(bit_or, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-6 BIT_OR Function Parameters

Parameters Description

r1

RAW to "or" with r2

r2

RAW to "or" with r1

Return Values

Table 233-7 BIT_OR Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the "or" of r1 and r2

NULL

Either r1 or r2 input parameter was NULL

Usage Notes

If r1 and r2 differ in length, then the "or" operation is terminated after the last byte of the shorter of the two RAWs, and the unprocessed portion of the longer RAW is appended to the partial result. The result length equals the longer of the two input RAWs.

BIT_XOR Function

This function performs bitwise logical "exclusive or" of the values in RAW r1 with RAW r2 and returns the xor'd result RAW.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.BIT_XOR (
   r1 IN RAW,
   r2 IN RAW) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(bit_xor, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-8 BIT_XOR Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r1

RAW to "xor" with r2

r2

RAW to "xor" with r1

Return Values

Table 233-9 BIT_XOR Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the "xor" of r1 and r2

NULL

If either r1 or r2 input parameter was NULL

Usage Notes

If r1 and r2 differ in length, then the "xor" operation is terminated after the last byte of the shorter of the two RAWs, and the unprocessed portion of the longer RAW is appended to the partial result. The result length equals the longer of the two input RAWs.

CAST_FROM_BINARY_DOUBLE Function

This function returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_DOUBLE value.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_FROM_BINARY_DOUBLE(
   n          IN BINARY_DOUBLE,
   endianess IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT 1) 
RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_from_binary_double, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-10 CAST_FROM_BINARY_DOUBLE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

n

BINARY_DOUBLE value

endianess

A BINARY_INTEGER value indicating the endianess. The function recognizes the defined constants big_endian (1), little_endian (2), and machine_endian (3). The default is big_endian. A setting of machine_endian has the same effect as big_endian on a big endian machine, or the same effect as little_endian on a little endian machine.

Return Values

The binary representation of the BINARY_DOUBLE value, or NULL if the input is NULL.

Usage Notes

  • An 8-byte binary_double value maps to the IEEE 754 double-precision format as follows:

    byte 0: bit 63 ~ bit 56
byte 1: bit 55 ~ bit 48
byte 2: bit 47 ~ bit 40
byte 3: bit 39 ~ bit 32
byte 4: bit 31 ~ bit 24
byte 5: bit 23 ~ bit 16
byte 6: bit 15 ~ bit  8
byte 7: bit  7 ~ bit  0

  • The parameter endianess describes how the bytes of BINARY_DOUBLE are mapped to the bytes of RAW. In the following matrix, rb0 ~ rb7 refer to the bytes in raw and db0 ~ db7 refer to the bytes in BINARY_DOUBLE.


    		 rb0 rb1 rb2 rb3 rb4 rb5 rb6 rb7
    big_endian db0 db1 db2 db3 db4 db5 db6 db7
    little_endian db7 db6 db5 db4 db3 db2 db1 db0

  • In case of machine-endian, the 8 bytes of the BINARY_DOUBLE argument are copied straight across into the RAW return value. The effect is the same if the user has passed big_endian on a big-endian machine, or little_endian on a little-endian machine.

CAST_FROM_BINARY_FLOAT Function

This function returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_FLOAT value.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_FROM_BINARY_FLOAT(
   n          IN BINARY_FLOAT,
   endianess IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT 1) 
RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_from_binary_float, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-11 CAST_FROM_BINARY_FLOAT Function Parameters

Parameter Description

n

BINARY_FLOAT value

endianess

A BINARY_INTEGER value indicating the endianess. The function recognizes the defined constants big_endian (1), little_endian (2), and machine_endian (3). The default is big_endian. A setting of machine_endian has the same effect as big_endian on a big endian machine, or the same effect as little_endian on a little endian machine.

Return Values

The binary representation (RAW) of the BINARY_FLOAT value, or NULL if the input is NULL.

Usage Notes

  • A 4-byte binary_float value maps to the IEEE 754 single-precision format as follows:

    byte 0: bit 31 ~ bit 24
byte 1: bit 23 ~ bit 16
byte 2: bit 15 ~ bit  8
byte 3: bit 7 ~  bit  0

  • The parameter endianess describes how the bytes of BINARY_FLOAT are mapped to the bytes of RAW. In the following matrix, rb0 ~ rb3 refer to the bytes in RAW and fb0 ~ fb3 refer to the bytes in BINARY_FLOAT.


    		 rb0 rb1 rb2 rb3
    big_endian fb0 fb1 fb2 fb3
    little_endian fb3 fb2 fb1 fb0

  • In case of machine-endian, the 4 bytes of the BINARY_FLOAT argument are copied straight across into the RAW return value. The effect is the same if the user has passed big_endian on a big-endian machine, or little_endian on a little-endian machine.

CAST_FROM_BINARY_INTEGER Function

This function returns the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_INTEGER value.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_FROM_BINARY_INTEGER (
   n          IN BINARY_INTEGER
   endianess  IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT BIG_ENDIAN) 
RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_from_binary_integer, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-12 CAST_FROM_BINARY_INTEGER Function Parameters

Parameter Description

n

BINARY_INTEGER value.

endianess

A BINARY_INTEGER value indicating the endianess. The function recognizes the defined constants big_endian (1), little_endian (2), and machine_endian (3). The default is big_endian. A setting of machine_endian has the same effect as big_endian on a big endian machine, or the same effect as little_endian on a little endian machine.

Return Values

The binary representation of the BINARY_INTEGER value.

CAST_FROM_NUMBER Function

This function returns the RAW binary representation of a NUMBER value.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_FROM_NUMBER (
   n  IN NUMBER)
 RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_from_number, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-13 CAST_FROM_NUMBER Function Parameters

Parameter Description

n

NUMBER value

Return Values

The binary representation of the NUMBER value.

CAST_TO_BINARY_DOUBLE Function

This function casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_DOUBLE into a BINARY_DOUBLE.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_BINARY_DOUBLE (
   r          IN RAW
   endianess  IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT 1) 
RETURN BINARY_DOUBLE;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_binary_double, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-14 CAST_TO_BINARY_DOUBLE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

Binary representation of a BINARY_DOUBLE

endianess

A PLS_INTEGER representing big-endian or little-endian architecture. The default is big-endian.

Return Values

The BINARY_DOUBLE value.

Usage Notes

  • If the RAW argument is more than 8 bytes, only the first 8 bytes are used and the rest of the bytes are ignored. If the result is -0, +0 is returned. If the result is NaN, the value BINARY_DOUBLE_NAN is returned.

  • If the RAW argument is less than 8 bytes, a VALUE_ERROR exception is raised.

  • An 8-byte binary_double value maps to the IEEE 754 double-precision format as follows:

    byte 0: bit 63 ~ bit 56
byte 1: bit 55 ~ bit 48
byte 2: bit 47 ~ bit 40
byte 3: bit 39 ~ bit 32
byte 4: bit 31 ~ bit 24
byte 5: bit 23 ~ bit 16
byte 6: bit 15 ~ bit  8
byte 7: bit  7 ~ bit  0

  • The parameter endianess describes how the bytes of BINARY_DOUBLE are mapped to the bytes of RAW. In the following matrix, rb0 ~ rb7 refer to the bytes in raw and db0 ~ db7 refer to the bytes in BINARY_DOUBLE.


    		 rb0 rb1 rb2 rb3 rb4 rb5 rb6 rb7
    big_endian db0 db1 db2 db3 db4 db5 db6 db7
    little_endian db7 db6 db5 db4 db3 db2 db1 db0

  • In case of machine-endian, the 8 bytes of the RAW argument are copied straight across into the BINARY_DOUBLE return value. The effect is the same if the user has passed big_endian on a big-endian machine, or little_endian on a little-endian machine.

CAST_TO_BINARY_FLOAT Function

This function casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_FLOAT into a BINARY_FLOAT.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_BINARY_FLOAT (
   r          IN RAW
   endianess  IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT 1) 
RETURN BINARY_FLOAT;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_binary_float, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-15 CAST_TO_BINARY_FLOAT Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

Binary representation of a BINARY_FLOAT

endianess

A PLS_INTEGER representing big-endian or little-endian architecture. The default is big-endian.

Return Values

The BINARY_FLOAT value.

Usage Notes

  • If the RAW argument is more than 4 bytes, only the first 4 bytes are used and the rest of the bytes are ignored. If the result is -0, +0 is returned. If the result is NaN, the value BINARY_FLOAT_NAN is returned.

  • If the RAW argument is less than 4 bytes, a VALUE_ERROR exception is raised.

  • A 4-byte binary_float value maps to the IEEE 754 single-precision format as follows:

    byte 0: bit 31 ~ bit 24
byte 1: bit 23 ~ bit 16
byte 2: bit 15 ~ bit  8
byte 3: bit 7 ~  bit  0

  • The parameter endianess describes how the bytes of BINARY_FLOAT are mapped to the bytes of RAW. In the following matrix, rb0 ~ rb3 refer to the bytes in RAW and fb0 ~ fb3 refer to the bytes in BINARY_FLOAT.


    		 rb0 rb1 rb2 rb3
    big_endian fbo fb1 fb2 fb3
    little_endian fb3 fb2 fb1 fb0

  • In case of machine-endian, the 4 bytes of the RAW argument are copied straight across into the BINARY_FLOAT return value. The effect is the same if the user has passed big_endian on a big-endian machine, or little_endian on a little-endian machine.

CAST_TO_BINARY_INTEGER Function

This function casts the RAW binary representation of a BINARY_INTEGER into a BINARY_INTEGER.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_BINARY_INTEGER (
   r          IN RAW
   endianess  IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT BIG_ENDIAN) 
RETURN BINARY_INTEGER;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_binary_integer, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-16 CAST_TO_BINARY_INTEGER Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

Binary representation of a BINARY_INTEGER

endianess

A PLS_INTEGER representing big-endian or little-endian architecture. The default is big-endian.

Return Values

The BINARY_INTEGER value

CAST_TO_NUMBER Function

This function casts the RAW binary representation of a NUMBER into a NUMBER.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_NUMBER (
   r  IN RAW) 
 RETURN NUMBER;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_number, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-17 CAST_TO_NUMBER function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

Binary representation of a NUMBER

Return Values

The NUMBER value.

CAST_TO_NVARCHAR2 Function

This function converts a RAW value represented using some number of data bytes into an NVARCHAR2 value with that number of data bytes.

Note:

When casting to a NVARCHAR2, the current Globalization Support character set is used for the characters within that NVARCHAR2 value.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_NVARCHAR2 (
   r IN RAW) 
RETURN NVARCHAR2;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_NVARCHAR2, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-18 CAST_TO_NVARCHAR2 Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW (without leading length field) to be changed to a NVARCHAR2)

Return Values

Table 233-19 CAST_TO_NVARCHAR2 Function Return Values

Return Description

NVARCHAR2

Containing having the same data as the input RAW

NULL

If r input parameter was NULL

CAST_TO_RAW Function

This function converts a VARCHAR2 value represented using some number of data bytes into a RAW value with that number of data bytes. The data itself is not modified in any way, but its data type is recast to a RAW data type.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_RAW (
   c  IN VARCHAR2) 
RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_raw, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-20 CAST_TO_RAW Function Parameters

Parameter Description

c

VARCHAR2 to be changed to a RAW

Return Values

Table 233-21 CAST_TO_RAW Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the same data as the input VARCHAR2 and equal byte length as the input VARCHAR2 and without a leading length field

NULL

If c input parameter was NULL

CAST_TO_VARCHAR2 Function

This function converts a RAW value represented using some number of data bytes into a VARCHAR2 value with that number of data bytes.

Note:

When casting to a VARCHAR2, the current Globalization Support character set is used for the characters within that VARCHAR2.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CAST_TO_VARCHAR2 (
   r IN RAW) 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(cast_to_VARCHAR2, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-22 CAST_TO_VARCHAR2 Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW (without leading length field) to be changed to a VARCHAR2

Return Values

Table 233-23 CAST_TO_VARCHAR2 Function Return Values

Return Description

VARCHAR2

Containing having the same data as the input RAW

NULL

If r input parameter was NULL

COMPARE Function

This function compares two RAW values. If they differ in length, then the shorter is extended on the right according to the optional pad parameter.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.COMPARE (
   r1  IN RAW,
   r2  IN RAW,
   pad IN RAW DEFAULT NULL) 
  RETURN NUMBER;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(compare, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-24 COMPARE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r1

1st RAW to be compared, may be NULL or 0 length

r2

2nd RAW to be compared, may be NULL or 0 length

pad

This is an optional parameter. Byte to extend whichever of r1 or r2 is shorter. The default: x'00'

Return Values

Table 233-25 COMPARE Function Return Values

Return Description

NUMBER

Equals 0 if RAW byte strings are both NULL or identical; or,

Equals position (numbered from 1) of the first mismatched byte

CONCAT Function

This function concatenates up to 12 RAWs into a single RAW. If the concatenated size exceeds 32K, then an error is returned

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CONCAT (  
   r1  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r2  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r3  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r4  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r5  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r6  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r7  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r8  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r9  IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r10 IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r11 IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   r12 IN RAW DEFAULT NULL) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(concat, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

r1....r12 are the RAW items to concatenate.

Return Values

Table 233-26 CONCAT Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the items concatenated

Exceptions

There is an error if the sum of the lengths of the inputs exceeds the maximum allowable length for a RAW, which is 32767 bytes.

CONVERT Function

This function converts RAW r from character set from_charset to character set to_charset and returns the resulting RAW.

Both from_charset and to_charset must be supported character sets defined to the Oracle server.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.CONVERT (
   r            IN RAW,
   to_charset   IN VARCHAR2,
   from_charset IN VARCHAR2) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(convert, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-27 CONVERT Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW byte-string to be converted

to_charset

Name of Globalization Support character set to which r is converted

from_charset

Name of Globalization Support character set in which r is supplied

Return Values

Table 233-28 CONVERT Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Byte string r converted according to the specified character sets.

Exceptions

Table 233-29 CONVERT Function Optional Parameter

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

Either:

- r missing, NULL, or 0 length

- from_charset or to_charset missing, NULL, or 0 length

- from_charset or to_charset names invalid or unsupported

COPIES Function

This function returns n copies of r concatenated together.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.COPIES (
   r IN RAW,
   n IN NUMBER) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(copies, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-30 COPIES Function Parameters

Parameters Description

r

RAW to be copied

n

Number of times to copy the RAW (must be positive)

Return Values

This returns the RAW copied n times.

Exceptions

Table 233-31 COPIES Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

Either:

- r is missing, NULL or 0 length

- n < 1

- Length of result exceeds maximum length of a RAW

LENGTH Function

This function returns the length in bytes of a RAW r.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.LENGTH (
   r  IN RAW) 
RETURN NUMBER;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(length, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-32 LENGTH Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW byte stream to be measured

Return Values

Table 233-33 LENGTH Function Return Values

Return Description

NUMBER

Current length of the RAW

OVERLAY Function

This function overlays the specified portion of target RAW with overlay_str RAW, starting from byte position pos of target and proceeding for len bytes.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.OVERLAY (
   overlay_str IN RAW,
   target      IN RAW,
   pos         IN BINARY_INTEGER DEFAULT 1,
   len         IN BINARY_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL,
   pad         IN RAW            DEFAULT NULL) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(overlay, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-34 OVERLAY Function Parameters

Parameters Description

overlay_str

Byte-string used to overlay target

target

Byte-string which is to be overlaid

pos

Position in target (numbered from 1) to start overlay

len

The number of target bytes to overlay

pad

Pad byte used when overlay len exceeds overlay_str length or pos exceeds target length

Defaults and Optional Parameters

Table 233-35 OVERLAY Function Optional Parameters

Optional Parameter Description

pos

1

len

To the length of overlay_str

pad

x'00'

Return Values

Table 233-36 OVERLAY Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

The target byte_string overlaid as specified.

Usage Notes

If overlay_str has less than len bytes, then it is extended to len bytes using the pad byte. If overlay_str exceeds len bytes, then the extra bytes in overlay_str are ignored. If len bytes beginning at position pos of target exceeds the length of target, then target is extended to contain the entire length of overlay_str.

If len is specified, it must be greater than or equal to 0. If pos is specified, it must be greater than or equal to 1. If pos exceeds the length of target, then target is padded with pad bytes to position pos, and target is further extended with overlay_str bytes.

Exceptions

Table 233-37 OVERLAY Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

Either:

- Overlay_str is NULL or has 0 length

- Target is missing or undefined

- Length of target exceeds maximum length of a RAW

- len < 0

- pos < 1

REVERSE Function

This function reverses a byte sequence in RAW r from end to end. For example, x'0102F3' would be reversed to x'F30201', and 'xyz' would be reversed to 'zyx'.The result length is the same as the input RAW length.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.REVERSE (
   r IN RAW) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(reverse, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-38 REVERSE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW to reverse

Return Values

Table 233-39 REVERSE Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing the "reverse" of r

Exceptions

Table 233-40 REVERSE Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

R is NULL or has 0 length

SUBSTR Function

This function returns len bytes, starting at pos from RAW r.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.SUBSTR (
   r   IN RAW,
   pos IN BINARY_INTEGER,
   len IN BINARY_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(substr, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-41 SUBSTR Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

The RAW byte-string from which a portion is extracted

pos

The byte position in r at which to begin extraction

len

The number of bytes from pos to extract from r (optional)

Defaults and Optional Parameters

Table 233-42 SUBSTR Function Exceptions

Optional Parameter Description

len

Position pos through to the end of r

Return Values

Table 233-43 SUBSTR Function Return Values

Return Description

portion of r

Beginning at pos for len bytes long

NULL

r input parameter was NULL

Usage Notes

If pos is positive, then SUBSTR counts from the beginning of r to find the first byte. If pos is negative, then SUBSTR counts backward from the end of the r. The value pos cannot be 0.

If len is omitted, then SUBSTR returns all bytes to the end of r. The value len cannot be less than 1.

Exceptions

Table 233-44 SUBSTR Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

VALUE_ERROR is returned if:

  • pos = 0 or > length of r

  • len < 1 or > length of r - (pos-1)

TRANSLATE Function

This function translates the bytes in the input RAW r according to the bytes in the translation RAWs from_set and to_set. If a byte in r has a matching byte in from_set, then it is replaced by the byte in the corresponding position in to_set, or deleted.

Bytes in r, but undefined in from_set, are copied to the result. Only the first (leftmost) occurrence of a byte in from_set is used. Subsequent duplicates are not scanned and are ignored.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.TRANSLATE (
   r        IN RAW,
   from_set IN RAW,
   to_set   IN RAW) 
  RETURN RAW;

Note:

Be aware that to_set and from_set are reversed in the calling sequence compared to TRANSLITERATE.

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(translate, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-45 TRANSLATE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW source byte-string to be translated

from_set

RAW byte-codes to be translated, if present in r

to_set

RAW byte-codes to which corresponding from_str bytes are translated

Return Values

Table 233-46 TRANSLATE Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Translated byte-string

Usage Notes

  • If to_set is shorter than from_set, the extra from_set bytes have no corresponding translation bytes. Bytes from the input RAW that match any such from_set bytes are not translated or included in the result. They are effectively translated to NULL.

  • If to_set is longer than from_set, the extra to_set bytes are ignored.

  • If a byte value is repeated in from_set, the repeated occurrence is ignored.

Note:

Differences from the TRANSLITERATE Function:

  • The from_set parameter comes before the to_set parameter in the calling sequence.

  • Bytes from r that appear in from_set but have no corresponding values in to_set are not translated or included in the result.

  • The resulting RAW value may be shorter than the input RAW value.

Note that TRANSLATE and TRANSLITERATE only differ in functionality when to_set has fewer bytes than from_set.

Exceptions

Table 233-47 TRANSLATE Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

Either:

- r is NULL or has 0 length

- from_set is NULL or has 0 length

- to_set is NULL or has 0 length

TRANSLITERATE Function

This function converts the bytes in the input RAW r according to the bytes in the transliteration RAWs from_set and to_set. Successive bytes in r are looked up in the from_set, and, if not found, copied unaltered to the result RAW. If found, then they are replaced in the result RAW by either corresponding bytes in the to_set, or the pad byte when no correspondence exists.

Bytes in r, but undefined in from_set, are copied to the result. Only the first (leftmost) occurrence of a byte in from_set is used. Subsequent duplicates are not scanned and are ignored. The result RAW is always the same length as r.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.TRANSLITERATE (
   r        IN RAW,
   to_set   IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   from_set IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   pad      IN RAW DEFAULT NULL)
  RETURN RAW;

Note:

Be aware that to_set and from_set are reversed in the calling sequence compared to TRANSLATE.

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(transliterate, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-48 TRANSLITERATE Function Parameters

Parameter Description

r

RAW input byte-string to be converted

to_set

RAW byte-codes to which corresponding from_set bytes are converted (any length)

from_set

RAW byte-codes to be converted, if presenting r (any length)

pad

1 byte used when to-set is shorter than the from_set

Defaults and Optional Parameters

Table 233-49 TRANSLITERATE Function Optional Parameters

Optional Parameter Description

to_set

To the NULL string and effectively extended with pad to the length of from_set as necessary

from_set

x ' 00' through x ' fff'

pad

x'00'

Return Values

Table 233-50 TRANSLITERATE Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Converted byte-string.

Usage Notes

  • If to_set is shorter than from_set, the extra from_set bytes have no corresponding conversion bytes. Bytes from the input RAW that match any such from_set bytes are converted in the result to the pad byte instead.

  • If to_set is longer than from_set, the extra to_set bytes are ignored.

  • If a byte value is repeated in from_set, the repeated occurrence is ignored.

Note:

Differences from the TRANSLATE Function:

  • The to_set parameter comes before the from_set parameter in the calling sequence.

  • Bytes from r that appear in from_set but have no corresponding values in to_set are replaced by pad in the result.

  • The resulting RAW value always has the same length as the input RAW value.

Note that TRANSLATE and TRANSLITERATE only differ in functionality when to_set has fewer bytes than from_set.

Exceptions

Table 233-51 TRANSLITERATE Function Exceptions

Error Description

VALUE_ERROR

R is NULL or has 0 length

XRANGE Function

This function returns a RAW value containing the succession of one-byte encodings beginning and ending with the specified byte-codes. The specified byte-codes must be single-byte RAW values. If the start_byte value is greater than the end_byte value, then the succession of resulting bytes begins with start_byte, wraps through x'FF' back to x'00', then ends at end_byte.

Syntax

UTL_RAW.XRANGE (
   start_byte IN RAW DEFAULT NULL,
   end_byte   IN RAW DEFAULT NULL) 
  RETURN RAW;

Pragmas

pragma restrict_references(xrange, WNDS, RNDS, WNPS, RNPS);

Parameters

Table 233-52 XRANGE Function Parameters

Parameters Description

start_byte

Beginning byte-code value of resulting sequence. The default is x'00'.

end_byte

Ending byte-code value of resulting sequence. The default is x'FF'.

Return Values

Table 233-53 XRANGE Function Return Values

Return Description

RAW

Containing succession of 1-byte hexadecimal encodings