Message-Id: <486B7D9F.EE98.0025.0@wicourts.gov>
Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:07:29 -0500
From: "Kevin Grittner" <Kevin.Grittner@wicourts.gov>
To: "Karen Stone" <kstone@mhs.mphasis.com>,
	"Naomi Walker" <nwalker@mhs.mphasis.com>,
	"pgsql-admin@postgresql.org" <pgsql-admin@postgresql.org>
Subject: Re: Change a character in a text field
References: <486A9A5E.9070905@mhs.mphasis.com>
	<486A59E1.EE98.0025.0@wicourts.gov>
	<09BDF9F0EAD32745A823E1865E6C45F3C99AE3@ecimail.eldocomp.com>
In-Reply-To: <09BDF9F0EAD32745A823E1865E6C45F3C99AE3@ecimail.eldocomp.com>
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>>> Karen Stone <kstone@mhs.mphasis.com> wrote: 
>>> Is there some way with a SQL state to interrogate a text field, and

>>> replace characters.
>>> 
>>> For example, we would like all "|"'s to be changed to something
else,
>>> on 
>>> a regular basis...
>>  
>> It sounds like you might want to look at the regexp_replace
function:
>>  
>>
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/interactive/functions-matching.html#F
>> UNCTIONS-POSIX-REGEXP
>>  
>> Be sure to use a WHERE clause on your UPDATE with the ~ operator.
>  
> Can you please provide a complete example of how to use this in the
> update command?  ie... how do we select the table/field that we want
to
> interrogate and make the change to?
 
Assuming standard_conforming_strings is on, this (untested) should do
it:
 
UPDATE sometable
  SET somecolumn = regexp_replace(somecolumn, '\|', 'something else',
'g')
  WHERE somecolumn ~ '\|';
 
If standard_conforming_strings is off, double the backslashes.
 
-Kevin