Function Reference

Abstract

Not to be outdone by the 30 operators in the last chapter, this chapter gives you an in-depth look at SQL Server CE’s 53 powerful, built-in functions. SQL Server CE does a good job of holding its own against big brother SQL Server 2000 in this department. You’re provided with functions that help you with mathematics, string manipulation, and date arithmetic among other things. This chapter serves as a reference guide to all these functions and includes complete descriptions, proper usage syntax, and a working example for each. It’s important that you run these examples and compare your results with mine to ensure that you’re on the right track. Just as in Chapter 7, you’ll need to create a Pocket PC Smart Device Application and place both a DataGrid control and a Button control on the form. You’ll need to reference System.Data.Common and System.Data.SqlServerCe in order to query SQL Server CE and produce DataSets from the data found in the NorthwindDemo.sdf database. The function code examples can be typed into the click event of the button with the results displayed in the DataGrid whenever the button is tapped. A full code example will be provided with the first function description and then only the unique SQL will be displayed in the function examples thereafter.