Identifying Nonstandard Numeric Data

Reading Raw Data in Fixed Fields

Identifying Nonstandard Numeric Data

Standard Numeric Data

Standard numeric data values can only contain

numbers
decimal points
numbers in scientific, or E, notation (23E4)
minus signs.

Nonstandard Numeric Data

Nonstandard numeric data include

values that contain special characters, such as percent signs (%), dollar signs ($), and commas (,)
date and time values
data in fraction, integer binary and real binary, and hexadecimal forms.

The external file referenced by the fileref Empdata contains the personnel information for a technical writing department of a small computer manufacturer. The fields contain values for each employee's last name, first name, job title, and annual salary.

Raw Data File Empdata

1---+----10---+----20---+---

EVANS   DONNY 112 29,996.63

HELMS   LISA  105 18,567.23

HIGGINS JOHN  111 25,309.00

LARSON  AMY   113 32,696.78

MOORE   MARY  112 28,945.89

POWELL  JASON 103 35,099.50

RILEY   JUDY  111 25,309.00

RYAN    NEAL  112 28,180.00

WILSON  HENRY 113 31,875.46

WOODS   CHIP  105 17,098.71

Notice that the values for Salary contain commas. So, the values for Salary are considered to be nonstandard numeric values.