TEXT

The TEXT data type stores character data in ASCII strings. TEXT resembles the BYTE data type, but 4GL supports features to display TEXT variables whose values are restricted to combinations of printable ASCII characters and the following control characters:

TAB (= CONTROL-I)

NEWLINE (= CONTROL-J)

FORMFEED (= CONTROL-L)

NOTE: If you include other non-printable characters in a TEXT string, the features of 4GL for displaying TEXT values may not operate correctly.

Character strings stored as TEXT variables have a theoretical limit of 2**31 bytes, and a practical limit determined by the available storage on your system. The INFORMIX-SE database engine does not support TEXT columns, but regardless of the engine, you can declare 4GL variables of type TEXT.

You can use a TEXT variable to store, retrieve, or update the contents of a TEXT database column, or to reference a file that you wish to display to users of the 4GL program through a text editor. After you declare a TEXT data type, you must use the LOCATE statement to specify the storage location.

When you select a TEXT column, you can assign all or part of it to a variable. Use bracket ( [ ] ) symbols and comma-separated subscripts to reference only a specified part of a TEXT value.