REPEAT Function

• Since the REPEAT function matches based on fixed numeric values, changes to the length or structure of a data field can cause your recipe to fail to properly execute.
• The REPEAT function requires an integer value for the number of characters to match.

Basic Usage

String literal example:

repeat('ha',3)

Output: Returns the string: hahaha.

Column reference example:

repeat(MyString,4)

Output: Returns the values of the MyString column value written four times in a row. 

Syntax and Arguments

repeat(column_string,rpt_count)

For more information on syntax standards, see Language Documentation Syntax Notes.

column_string

Name of the column or String literal to be repeated.

• Missing string or column values generate missing string results.
• String constants must be quoted ('Hello, World').
• Multiple columns and wildcards are not supported.

Usage Notes:

rpt_count

Count of times to repeat the string.

• If the value is not specified, the default is 1.
• Value must a non-negative integer. 
• References to columns of integer data type are not supported.

Usage Notes:

Examples

Example - REPEAT string function

Source:

Transformation:

Results:

Example - Padding values

In the following example, the imported prodId values are supposed to be eight characters in length. Somewhere during the process, however, leading 0 characters were truncated. The steps below allow you to re-insert the leading characters.

Source:

Transformation:

First, we need to identify how many zeroes need to be inserted for each prodId:

Use the REPEAT function to generate a pad string based on the above values:

Merge the pad string and the original prodId column:

Results:

When you delete the intermediate columns and rename column2 to prodId, you have the following table: