*TRIM - Remove Leading and/or Trailing Blanks

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# *TRIM - Remove Leading and/or Trailing Blanks

`*TRIM` `(`operand |  | , |  | `LEADING` |  |  | `)`
`TRAILING`

Format/length: same as operand (A, U or B)/DYNAMIC.

This document covers the following topics:

- Function

- Restrictions

- Syntax Description

- Examples

## Function

The Natural system function `*TRIM` removes all leading and/or trailing blanks from an alphanumeric or a binary string. The content of the operand is not modified. When using a dynamic variable as operand, the length of this variable is adapted according to the result.

The `*TRIM` system function may be specified as an operand in any position of a statement wherever an operand of format A, U or B is allowed.

## Restrictions

When using the system function `*TRIM`, the following restrictions apply:

- `*TRIM` must not be used where a target variable is expected.

- You may not nest `*TRIM` in a system function.

- If the operand is a static variable, it is not possible to remove trailing blanks using `*TRIM`, because for static variables the remaining trailing positions of the variable memory are filled with space characters.

## Syntax Description

Operand Definition Table:

Operand | Possible Structure | Possible Formats | Referencing Permitted | Dynamic Definition
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
`operand` | C | S | A |  |  | A | U | B |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | yes | no

Syntax Element Description:

Syntax Element | Description
--- | ---
`*TRIM(operand, LEADING)` | Remove Leading Blanks When the keyword `LEADING` is used as a second argument, all leading blanks are removed from the string contained in operand.
`*TRIM(operand, TRAILING)` | Remove Trailing Blanks When the keyword `TRAILING` is used as a second argument, all trailing blanks are removed from the string contained in operand.
`*TRIM(operand)` | Remove Both Leading and Trailing Blanks When no keyword is used as a second argument, both the leading and the trailing blanks are removed from the string contained in operand.

## Examples

The following examples are provided below:

- Example 1 - Using an Alphanumeric Argument

### Example 1 - Using an Alphanumeric Argument

    DEFINE DATA LOCAL
    /*******************************
    /* STATIC VARIABLE DEFINITIONS
    /*******************************
    1 #SRC  (A15) INIT <'  ab  CD  '>
    1 #DEST (A15)

    /* FOR PRINT OUT WITH DELIMITERS
    1 #SRC-PRN  (A20)
    1 #DEST-PRN (A20)

    /*******************************
    /* DYNAMIC VARIABLE DEFINITIONS
    /*******************************
    1 #DYN-SRC (A)DYNAMIC INIT <'  ab  CD  '>
    1 #DYN-DEST (A)DYNAMIC

    /* FOR PRINT OUT WITH DELIMITERS
    1 #DYN-SRC-PRN  (A)DYNAMIC
    1 #DYN-DEST-PRN (A)DYNAMIC

    END-DEFINE

    PRINT 'static variable definition:'
    PRINT '---------------------------'
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #SRC ':' TO #SRC-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    PRINT ' '
    PRINT ' 123456789012345      123456789012345'

    MOVE *TRIM(#SRC, LEADING) TO #DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DEST ':' TO #DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY #SRC-PRN #DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC, LEADING)'

    MOVE *TRIM(#SRC, TRAILING) TO #DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DEST ':' TO #DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY #SRC-PRN #DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC, TRAILING)'

    MOVE *TRIM(#SRC) TO #DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DEST ':' TO #DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY #SRC-PRN #DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC)'

    PRINT ' '
    PRINT 'dynamic variable definition:'
    PRINT '----------------------------'
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DYN-SRC ':' TO #DYN-SRC-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    PRINT ' '
    PRINT ' 1234567890           12345678'

    MOVE *TRIM(#DYN-SRC, LEADING) TO #DYN-DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DYN-DEST ':' TO #DYN-DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY (AL=20) #DYN-SRC-PRN #DYN-DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC, LEADING)'

    MOVE *TRIM(#DYN-SRC, TRAILING) TO #DYN-DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DYN-DEST ':' TO #DYN-DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY (AL=20) #DYN-SRC-PRN #DYN-DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC, TRAILING)'

    MOVE *TRIM(#DYN-SRC) TO #DYN-DEST
    COMPRESS FULL ':' #DYN-DEST ':' TO #DYN-DEST-PRN LEAVING NO SPACE
    DISPLAY (AL=20) #DYN-SRC-PRN #DYN-DEST-PRN '*TRIM(#SRC)'

    PRINT ' '
    PRINT '":" := delimiter character to show the start and ending of a string!'
    END

Output of Example 1:

    #SRC-PRN             #DEST-PRN
    -------------------- -----------------------

    static variable definition:
    ----------------------------

     123456789012345         123456789012345
    :  ab  CD       :       :ab  CD         :     *TRIM(#SRC, LEADING)
    :  ab  CD       :       :  ab  CD       :     *TRIM(#SRC, TRAILING)
    :  ab  CD       :       :ab  CD         :     *TRIM(#SRC)

    dynamic variable definition:
    ----------------------------

     1234567890              12345678
    :  ab  CD  :            :ab  CD  :            *TRIM(#SRC, LEADING)
    :  ab  CD  :            :  ab  CD:            *TRIM(#SRC, TRAILING)
    :  ab  CD  :            :ab  CD:              *TRIM(#SRC)

    ':' := delimiter character to show the start and ending of a string!

### On this page

- Function
- Restrictions
- Syntax Description
- Examples