The cmdlet provides functions that are similar to those that are available with most standard databases. These functions are implemented in the CData provider engine and thus are available across all data sources with the same consistent API. Three categories of functions are available: string, date, and math.

The cmdlet interprets all SQL function inputs as either strings or column identifiers, so you need to escape all literals as strings, with single quotes. For example, contrast the SQL Server syntax and cmdlet syntax for the DATENAME function:

• SQL Server:
  

  SELECT DATENAME(yy,GETDATE())

• cmdlet:
  

  SELECT DATENAME('yy',GETDATE())

String Functions

These functions perform string manipulations and return a string value. See STRING Functions for more details.

Date Functions

These functions perform date and date time manipulations. See DATE Functions for more details.

Math Functions

These functions provide mathematical operations. See MATH Functions for more details.

Predicate Functions

These functions can be used to specify criteria in the WHERE clause of your SQL query. See Predicate Functions for more details.