delete

The EGL delete statement provides the fundamental "delete" capability for the language. It removes a record from a file, a row from a relational database, or a segment from a hierarchical database.

In most cases, you must place a hold on a record before you can delete it. To place a hold on a record, use the get statement with the forUpdate option.

The exact behavior of the statement depends on the way you have stereotyped your record variable (see Stereotypes).

Syntax


Syntax diagram for the delete statement
recordVariable
This record variable contains the information to be deleted from the data source.
deleteOptions
Depending on how you stereotyped your record variable, some options might be available to make the delete statement more specific. See the considerations for specific data access technologies.
with explicitCode
Depending on how you stereotyped your record variable, you might be able to specify explicit code here. See the considerations for specific data access technologies.
from listID
If you are not working with the default data source that is associated with this record variable, specify a list ID. This is the character string you used to identify the list that was previously created in an EGL open or get statement. You must use a forUpdate option with the open or get statement if you want to perform a delete later.

Example

In the following example, the user has submitted a request to delete a displayed record. The program must get and hold the record variable containing the specified information before deleting the record:

  if (userRequest == "D")
    try
      get myCustomer forUpdate;
      onException(ex AnyException)
        myErrorHandler(ex);   // exits the program
    end

    try
      delete myCustomer;
      onException(ex AnyException)
        myErrorHandler(ex);
    end
  end