Decode Function I asked this in the wrong section so I hope Im right now!

Question

select
a11.SEQ_MEMB_ID,
a11.Auth_Number,
a11.Admit_Primary_Date,
a11.Reviewer,
Decode (a11.Reviewer,
CLC, '2',
HBR, '3',
RAB, '4')
a11.admit_primary_date
from windsoradm.auth_master a11;
I am trying to get if the Reviewer is CLC then they are code 2 HBR Code 3 etc and it does not work. I take out the decode function and the query works. I am getting ORA-00923 FROM KEYWORD NOT FOUND WHERE EXPECTED.

Answer 1

Hi,
Whenever you have a problem, please post a little sample data (CREATE TABLE and INSERT statements, relevant columns only) from all tables involved.
Also post the results you want from that data, and an explanation of how you get those results from that data, with specific examples.
Simplify the problem as much as possible. Remove all tables and columns that play no role in this problem.
Always say which version of Oracle you're using.
This is the right forum for this question. Mark your question in the other forum {message:id=10266930} as "Answered", so people won't waste their time.
925518 wrote:
select
a11.SEQ_MEMB_ID,
a11.Auth_Number,
a11.Admit_Primary_Date,
a11.Reviewer,
Decode (a11.Reviewer,
CLC, '2',
HBR, '3',
RAB, '4')
a11.admit_primary_date
from windsoradm.auth_master a11;
I am trying to get if the Reviewer is CLC then they are code 2 HBR Code 3 etc and it does not work. I take out the decode function and the query works. I am getting ORA-00923 FROM KEYWORD NOT FOUND WHERE EXPECTED.That's the correct DECODE syntax, where CLC, HBR and RAB are columns, and you want to return a string (not a number) such as '2'.
If 'CLC', 'HBR' and 'RAB' are literal values, then enclose them in single-quotes. If you want to return a number, don't put it in quotes. (Anyhting inside single-quotes is a string literal.)
Perhaps you meant something like:
,     DECODE ( a11.Reviewer
            , 'CLC'          , 1
            , 'HBR'          , 2
            , 'RAB'          , 3
            )      AS reviewer_codeThere's an error right after the DECODE. You can't use a11.admit_primary_date as a column alias. (This is probably what's causing the ORA-00923 error.) Either a11_admit_primary_date (with an underscore instead of a dot) or admit_primary_date would be okay. If a11.admit_priomary_date is the next column in the SELECT clause, put a comma befor it.
You need a FROM clause.