RE: search/replace in update

Which function would you be suggesting? I hope not "translate". That works
on characters, not strings. Easy to confuse if you don't read closely
enough, as I found to my cost.
Easiest way using these functions would be:
UPDATE table
SET mobile_number = '07889' || substr (mobile_number, 5)
WHERE mobile_number LIKE '0589%';
Alternatively, you could define a generic search/replace function like:
CREATE FUNCTION search_replace (text, text, text)
RETURNS text AS '
RETURN @_[0] =~ s/@_[1]/@_[2]/
' LANGUAGE 'plperl';
Which would be available anytime for similar purposes (credit to Tom Lane
for the idea).

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Josh Berkus [SMTP:josh(at)agliodbs(dot)com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2001 9:52 AM
> To: Gary Stainburn
> Cc: pgsql-sql(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: search/replace in update
>
> Gary,
>
> > This means that e.g. all mobile numbers that used to start 0589 now
> > start 07889.
> >
> > Is there a way in SQL to update the phone number in-place?
>
> Postgresql has a nifty string substitution function. For this and other
> character manipulation functions, see:
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/idocs/index.php?functions-string.html
>
> You should be able to fairly easily swap out "07889" and replace it with
> "0589".
>
> -Josh
>
>
>
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