I love it when someone is trying all the options excepts the most obvious one. Try: decode(:field1, 'current',sysdate, :field1) or decode(:field1, 'current',to_char(sysdate,'DD/MM/YYYY', :field1) if it is a char field as can be assumed when you compare it to 'current'. Yechiel Adar Mehish Computer Services ----- Original Message ----- From: "A Joshi" <ajoshi977@xxxxxxxxx> To: <jknight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 6:02 AM Subject: RE: ** using decode in sql loader > Thank you Jon. > > the question is how can I specify sysdate in place of '34' in the example below. > > Please note that it is a date field : > > decode(:field1, 'current','<i want sysdate here>', :field1) > i tried :sysdate and ':sysdate' and no luck. Thanks > "Knight, Jon" <jknight@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > It looks like you can. > > From Oracle's documentation: > field1 POSITION(1:4) INTEGER EXTERNAL > "decode(:field2, '22', '34', :field1)" > > Jon Knight > > -----Original Message----- > From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] > On Behalf Of A Joshi > Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 5:43 PM > To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: ** using decode in sql loader > > Hi, > I would like to use decode in sqlloader to convert data. I have a date > field that might have the text 'current' in which case I want to convert it > into sysdate. Can that be done? Thanks for your help. > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' > > -- > //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l > -- > //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' > > -- > //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l