Decimals are defined by an encoded length - the total number of significant digits (precision), and the significant digits to the right of the decimal (scale). The following macros handle decimal length:
| Macro | Description |
| DECLEN(m,n) | Calculates the minimum number of bytes necessary to hold a decimal ( m = precision, n = scale) |
| DECLENGTH(length) | Calculates the minimum number of bytes necessary to hold a decimal, given the encoded length |
| DECPREC(size) | Calculates a default precision, given the size (the number of bytes used to store a number) |
| PRECTOT(length) | Returns the precision from an encoded length |
| PRECDEC(length) | Returns the scale from an encoded length |
| PRECMAKE(p,s) | Returns the encoded decimal length from a precision and scale |
The following macros allow you to obtain the size information stored by the database server for a VARCHAR column:
| Macro | Description |
| MAXVCLEN (255) | The maximum number of characters allowed in a VARCHAR column |
| VCMIN(size) | To get the minimum number of characters that you can store in a VARCHAR column |
| VCLENGTH(len) | The length of the host variable |
| VCMAX(size) | To get the maximum number of characters that you can store in a VARCHAR column |
| VCSIZ(max, min) | To get the encoded size for the VARCHAR column |