Re: Inserting Null Value or String Value

on 10/1/02 10:54 AM, dcmkx10(at)yahoo(dot)com purportedly said:

I am trying to insert a date into a date field, but also sometimes I need to
insert a null value. Inserting the null value seems to require not using
quotes around null, but if I try to enter a date without quotes around it,
it thinks it is a number.

Here is the error I get: Warning: PostgreSQL query failed: ERROR: column
"spec_start_date" is of type 'date' but expression is of type 'integer' You
will need to rewrite or cast the expression

The value I am sending is: spec_start_date = 10/01/02

If I surround the date with single quotes it should be fine, but I can't do
that when I want to insert a null value. I know that I can do an "IF <use
quotes> ELSE <don't use quotes>" in the SQL string, by I am entering many
values and this would really get messy. I was hoping that there was a better
solution. Thanks for any help.

If there is a way, I haven't found it yet. But it doesn't have to be
messy--simply create a function that does the if-else for you, and your code
will stay clean.

Keary Suska
Esoteritech, Inc.
"Leveraging Open Source for a better Internet"