SAP SHIFT FUNCTIONS documentation, setup help and example usage

ARTICLE

shift_left, shift_right - Shift Functions
The shift functions shift the content of a character-like argument.

Syntax Forms
1. ... shift_left( [val =] text
[places = places]|[circular = places]|[
sub = substring ] ) ...
2. ... shift_right( [val =] text
[places = places]|[circular = places]|[
sub = substring ] ) ...

Effect
The functions shift_left and shift_right shift the character string text to the left or to the right and return the result. The shift depends on the parameter pass as follows:

If the argument places is given a numerical value, this many characters are removed on the left or right of the character string and the length of the character string is reduced accordingly. If the value of places is negative or longer than the character string, an exception of the class CX_SY_RANGE_OUT_OF_BOUNDS is raised.

If the argument circular is given a numerical value, the functions work like places , but insert the substring again at the end or start of the character string.

If the argument sub is given a character string in substring , all substrings in the character string from text are removed on the left or right that match the content of substring . If no substrings are found or if substring is given an empty string, the character string remains unchanged.

If none of the arguments places , circular , or sub are specified, the functions work as if the sub argument has been passed a blank character. All blank characters to the left or right are removed. In this case, an explicit val= can also be omitted.

places and circular are numerical expression positions
of type i .
The return code has the type string accordingly.

Note
When places is specified, the function shift_right behaves differently from the statement SHIFT with the additions RIGHT
and PLACES . The function shift_right reduces the length of the string, but the statement SHIFT makes the string longer or keeps it the same length.

Example
See String Functions, shift and substring



Runtime Exceptions

Catchable Exceptions
CX_SY_RANGE_OUT_OF_BOUNDS
STRING_LENGTH_NEGATIVE