GetItemDate

Description

Gets data whose type is Date from the specified buffer of a DataWindow control or DataStore object. You can obtain the data that was originally retrieved and stored in the database from the original buffer, as well as the current value in the primary, delete, or filter buffers.

Applies to

DataWindow type

Method applies to

PowerBuilder

DataWindow control, DataWindowChild object, DataStore object


Syntax

PowerBuilder

date dwcontrol.GetItemDate ( long row, string column 
   {, DWBuffer dwbuffer , boolean originalvalue } )
date dwcontrol.GetItemDate ( long row, integer column 
   {, DWBuffer dwbuffer, boolean originalvalue } )

Argument

Description

dwcontrol

A reference to a DataWindow control, DataStore, or child DataWindow.

row

A value identifying the row location of the data.

column

The column location of the data. The datatype of the column must be date. Column can be a column number or a column name. The column number is the number of the column as it is listed in the Column Specification view of the DataWindow painter -- not necessarily the number of the column in the Design view.

To get the contents of a computed field, specify the name of the computed field for column. Computed fields do not have numbers.

dwbuffer (optional)

A value identifying the DataWindow buffer from which you want to get the data.

For a list of valid values, see DWBuffer.

originalvalue (optional)

A boolean indicating whether you want the original or current values for row and column:

  • True -- Returns the original values (the values initially retrieved from the database).

  • False -- (Default) Returns the current values.

If you specify dwbuffer, you must also specify originalvalue.


Return value

Returns the date value in the specified row and column. Returns null if the column value is null or if there is no DataWindow object assigned to the DataWindow control or DataStore. Returns 1900-01-01 if any other error occurs.

If any argument value is null, in PowerBuilder and JavaScript the method returns null.

Usage

Use GetItemDate when you want to get information from the DataWindow's buffers. To find out what the user entered in the current column before that data is accepted, use GetText. In the ItemChanged or ItemError events, use the data argument.

To access a row in the original buffer, specify the buffer that the row currently occupies (primary, delete, or filter) and the number of the row in that buffer. When you specify true for originalvalue, the method gets the original data for that row from the original buffer.

An execution error occurs when the datatype of the DataWindow column does not match the datatype of the method; in this case, date.

Datatypes of columns and computed fields

There is a difference in datatypes between columns and computed columns retrieved from the database and computed fields defined in the DataWindow painter. Computed columns from the database can have a datatype of date, but a date computed field always has a datatype of DateTime, not date. In PowerBuilder, use the GetItemDateTime method instead.

PowerBuilder only: using GetItemDate in a String function

When you call GetItemDate as an argument for the String function and do not specify a display format, the value is formatted as a DateTime value. This statement returns a string like "2/26/96 00:00:00":

String(dw_1.GetItemDate(1, "start_date"))

To get a simple date string, you can specify a display format:

String(dw_1.GetItemDate(1,"start_date"), "m/d/yy")

or you can assign the date to a date variable before calling the String function:

date ld_date
string ls_date
ld_date = dw_1.GetItemDate(1, "start_date")
ls_date = String(ld_date)

Examples

These statements set hiredate to the current Date data in the third row of the primary buffer in the column named first_day of dw_employee:

Date hiredate
hiredate = dw_employee.GetItemDate(3, "first_day")

These statements set hiredate to the current Date data in the third row of the filter buffer in the column named first_day of dw_employee:

Date hiredate
hiredate = dw_employee.GetItemDate(3, &
      "first_day", Filter!, false)

These statements set hiredate to original Date data in the third row of the primary buffer in the column named hdate of dw_employee:

Date hiredate
hiredate = dw_employee.GetItemDate(3, &
      "hdate", Primary!, true)

See also

GetItemDateTime

GetItemDecimal

GetItemNumber

GetItemString

GetItemTime

GetText

SetItem

SetText