AW: substring

[Mario Giesel]

Sorry, my first answer went to listserv adress.
Here'a another solution ....
 
* =============================================.
COMPUTE position = 1000 /*position of first number*/.
LOOP #number = 0 TO 9 /*check positions for numbers 0 to 9 and chose earliest*/.
IF (INDEX(name,STRING(#number,F1)) > 0 AND INDEX(name,STRING(#number,F1)) < position) position = INDEX(name,STRING(#number,F1)) /*0 is not allowed*/.
END LOOP.
STRING prefix number (A20).
COMPUTE prefix = RTRIM(SUBSTR(name,1,position - 1)).
COMPUTE number = RTRIM(SUBSTR(name,position)).
LIST / VAR = name prefix number / CASES TO 10.
* =============================================.

Good luck,
Mario



----- Ursprüngliche Mail ----
Von: Cheryl Scott <[hidden email]>
An: [hidden email]
Gesendet: Freitag, den 26. September 2008, 18:12:31 Uhr
Betreff: substring

I need to split several thousand course names into two parts: prefix and course number.  The prefix is always first in the name and is comprised of alpha characters only..  The course number is second in the name and is mostly numeric although may contain an alpha trailing character.  Example below (the name is what I have, prefix and number are what I want):

name          prefix        number
AAD100        AAD          100
AAD100B      AAD          100B
ENG090        ENG          090
DH290          DH            290

Is there a way to efficiently break the name into the 2 pieces that I need, perhaps based on the first occurrence of a number?




Cheryl Scott
IR Data Manager
Office of Institutional Research
Truckee Meadows Community College
[hidden email]
[phone] (w)

====================To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to
[hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
command. To leave the list, send the command
SIGNOFF SPSSX-L
For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
INFO REFCARD


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Sie sind Spam leid? Yahoo! Mail verfügt über einen herausragenden Schutz gegen Massenmails..
http://mail.yahoo.com

====================To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to
[hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
command. To leave the list, send the command
SIGNOFF SPSSX-L
For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
INFO REFCARD