Merge branch 'master' of https://github.com/jeffshumphreys/MySQLCLRFunctions

Author: jeffshumphreys@gmail.com

README.md

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+# MySQLCLRFunctions
+Free SQLCLR functions tested on SQL Server 2019
+
+Simple stuff to avoid spending $500 for a two year license (https://sqlsharp.com/full/)
+It hasn't been updated in 2 years, so not very cool.
+I use UNSAFE assemblies, because me likey.
+Their names are a bit taxing.  I call things StartsWith rather than SQL#.string_Is_A_BEGINNIN_WITH
+Less parameters.  These are annoying to have to fill out.  Rather, do it the old fashion way:  Make a new function!
+CompareThese(a,b)
+BestOf3(a,b,3)
+Or make an agg.
+Pass everything NVARCHAR(MAX) for now.  Speed isn't the main problem.  The main problem is that SQL Server functions are severely lacking.
+
+If it's possible to think of a logical algorithm that can easily be described, then it's worth being a function.
+
+For instance, AnyOneOfTheseIsInThose, or something like that.  If have a set.  Are any of these items in this other list?
+
+To pass in lists, I just use delimited strings.
+
+Structure or class organization:
+<li>
+  Adaptors - Converts something to something else as an electronic power adaptor would.  It's not a transformation, and it's reversible.
+</li>
+<li>
+  Compares - Comparisons.  Since generics aren't supported, The name includes the type (like olden days). Often in SQL I need to get the greatest
+  between two or a few things.  Greatest between PURCHASE_DATE and QUOTE or some such.  Usually between two or more events that could happen in
+  either order.
+</li>
+<li>
+  Environmental - I'm Windows centric.  Sorry.  So I try to "beep" sometimes in code, and I'm pretty sure the SQLCLR context is boxed out of 
+  beeping, so it doesn't work.  But it will, someday.  I want things like "You're data is ready, Captain."  Might help the alertness quotient.
+</li>
+<li>
+  FileNameExtract - Dumb name.  But using .NET FileInfo is a major load for processing say millions of documents off a shared drive.
+  I should be able to replace FileInfo with some straight-forward parsing.
+</li>
+<li>
+  Humanization - One of the most common functions around, but never really fully cooked, is it.  So this is yet-another attempt, and I may
+  look around out there for better ones to borrow.
+  DBAs/Developers never pause to think: Who is my audience?  Do they need to see rows and rows with 30 date-time columns?  If they're all
+  sub-second from now, then say so.  We need a "yada yada yada" function.  If one sticks out and says "Last year", it should stick out!
+  If there's a 9198, maybe it's really 1998?  I've had SQL Server blow on DATETIME with an Oracle DATE value of 0200, a typo which Oracle tolerates
+  in a DATE column, but SQL Server did not.  DATE and DATETIME2 are better.
+</li>
+<li>
+  NetworkCollect - Not sure what I was thinking.  Collect?
+</li>
+<li>
+  NetworkTest - I use the "Test" suffix a lot.  "Ping" is important, but SQL Server feels like that's a job for System Engineers.  Well,
+  if I'm scanning my SQL Servers or a list of possible Servers, then if I try to connect to each one, there will be a lot of time outs,
+  and the default time out is about 30 seconds, or 20.  I turn that down, but if the host doesn't exist at all in Active Directory,
+  then the timeout is defined by the OS, and SQL Server goes blithely on with waiting.
+</li>
+<li>
+  StringExtract - This is a bit Polish-Hungarian for sorting.  These are all the functions that extract something from a string or a string of 
+  substrings.  Here's an example of constant use in C#, which is not really something you get in SSMS or SQLCMD.  It's nice!
+  I add functions that seem like an oversight.  "LeftOf" some charactor or string.  Why do I have to do 
+            CASE WHEN CHARINDEX(',', s) > 0 THEN SUBSTRING(s, CHARINDEX(',', s)-1 ELSE NULL END??????
+            <br><h1>ARGH!</h1>
+</li>
+<li>
+  StringMeasure - Separate from extraction, we are instead taking measure of something, so new information is being gained, even though it 
+  is deductive information.  Extracts are to avoid providing new information, but rather only provide a substring that exists within the source.
+  <br> HowMany.  Simple enough!  How many commas?  We are pulling in a CSV, and missing commas or extras will break it.
+</li>
+<li>
+  StringTest - Returns 1 or 0!  Very bitty.  These are probably deterministic.  I hope.  
+  A lot of "Is it" and "Does it" questions.
+</li>
+<li>
+  StringTransform - Actual change being made, new information by structural abruption.
+</li>
+
+My favorites have to be Matches, Ping, StartsWith, EndsWith, AnyOfTheseeAreAnyOfThose, HowMany, LeftOf, LeftOfNth, LeftOfNth, IndexOfLast
+Also GetFirstName, Pieces, RTrimChar.
+
+I have a bunch somewhere, and I need to add more.
+
+Some ideas:
+- Better captures
+- Escape for multi-level dynamic SQL generation
+- A UNIX cut command for fixed-width
+- CSV, XML in/out
+- HTML table generation for emails.
+- Intelligent Substring Title casing, like "ROTC" is not "Rotc".
+- Smarter name normalization, accent removals for us Americanos.
+- SQLFormat?  The way I like?
+- Some default formatters, like LogFileTimeStamp = "YYYYmmDDhh24missffffff" or some such.  So I don't have to remember.
+
+- Possibly push SQL work down?  Like a TRUNCATE TABLE that pre-strips FKs, truncates, reloads, and tries to add the FKs back.
+- Unix to/from for Active Directory columns
+- Natural language extraction of patterned speech.
+
+