<< I too like the SELECT ... INTO ... option but I would include INDICATOR variables to test for NULL values. >>
The INDICATOR variable is not necessary for checking for NULL values. You can simply check the value of the resulting variable using IS NULL. I've never been clear on why this unnecessary construct was included in R:Base, and certainly not why it's required to avoid displaying a warning. The reason INDICATOR variables were developed was for use with Embedded SQL and languages like C in which variables cannot represent NULLs. In C, with Embedded SQL if you SELECT a NULL integer value, it would set your variable to 0 (since there's no NULL representation) and you would need to check the INDICATOR value to see if that was really a 0 or was a NULL value. Completely unnecessary in R:Base or any other language with NULL-able variables. I think it's one of those things that made it into a standards document somewhere to completely document all variants of SQL. In R:Base, or any other modern programming language, it's an anachronism. I always include an INDICATOR variable (to avoid the warning), but it's the same variable for each column (always called vI) and I never check it. -- Larry
