The BLANK WHEN ZERO Clause

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause permits the blanking of an item when its value is zero.

General Format


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Syntax Rules

  1. The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause can be used only for an elementary item whose PICTURE is specified as numeric (with implicit or explicit USAGE IS DISPLAY) or numeric edited. (See the topic The PICTURE Clause.)
  2. The asterisk, when used as the zero suppression symbol, and the clause BLANK WHEN ZERO should not appear in the same entry.

    OSVS This construct is, however, permitted in which case, zero suppression overrides the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause.

General Rules

  1. When the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is used, the item will contain nothing but spaces if the value of the item is zero.
  2. When the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is used for an item whose PICTURE is numeric, the category of the item is considered to be numeric edited.
Parent topic: Data Description Entry Skeleton
Related information
The PICTURE Clause