How to use replace function?

Question

Hi,
How do I replace a string and decode into a grouping? I have something like this:
Select
distinct id,decode(SUBSTR(id,1,1),'A','A-D','B','B-D'...from Table
I want the distinct id for a string called "T to be replaced with XXX and decoded into the the right column. The output should be two columns.
Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi,
Is the problem that sometimes you want to test just the first character of id, and other times you need to test more?
Then use CASE instead of DECODE:
SELECT  id
,       CASE
            WHEN  SUBSTR (id, 1, 1) IN ('A', 'B', 'C')
            OR    SUBSTR (id, 1, 2) = '"D'
            THEN  'A-D'
            ELSE  'OTHER'
        END     AS  column_b
FROM    table_x;
{code}
If you're using Oracle 8 (or later), then never use DECODE.  Always use CASE instead.