The Sequential Function returns a number that is incremented sequentially. The syntax is:
SEQ(start, step)
You can use the Sequential Function to change customer data for a test database. Assume that the CUST_ID column is defined as CHAR(5). To increment by 50, starting at 1, specify:
SEQ(1, 50)
In this example, the function returns CUST_ID values starting at '00001' and increments by 50 to generate '00051', '00101', etc. When the result exceeds '99951', the function resets to the start value of 1.
You can use the Sequential Function in a column map to mask sales data for a test database. Assume that the YTD_SALES column is defined as DECIMAL(7,2). To increment by 100 starting at 1000, specify:
SEQ(1000, 100)
In this example, the function returns YTD_SALES values starting at 1000 and increments by 100 to generate 1100, 1200, etc. When the result exceeds 99999, the function resets to the start value of 1000.
Assume that the SALESMAN_ID column is defined as CHAR(6). To insert values beginning with ‘NJ,' followed by a number starting at 50 and incremented by 10, use the function in a concatenated expression:
'NJ'||SEQ(50, 10)
In this example, the function returns SALESMAN_ID values starting at 'NJ50 ' and increments by 10 to generate 'NJ60 ', 'NJ70 ', etc. When the result exceeds 'NJ9990', the function resets to the start value.