Global Syntax › FIND / GET Comparison-Expression

FIND / GET Comparison-Expression

Comparison-expression is used in the FIND/GET WHERE criteria clause and in the COMPUTE GROUP BY HAVING criteria clause.

Access mode: The syntax below is invalid when the access switch is set to IDMS.

Syntax:

►►─┬─ function-expression ─┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────►
   └─ field-reference ─────┘

 ►─┬─┬─┬─ = ──┬─┬─ data-value ─┬─ THRU ─┬─ data-value ─┬──────────────────────►◄
   │ │ ├─ EQ ─┤ │              └─ TO ───┘              │
   │ │ └─ IS ─┘ │                                      │
   │ └─┬─ ¬= ─┬─┘                                      │
   │   └─ NE ─┘                                        │
   ├─ MATches mask-value ──────────────────────────────┤
   ├─ CONtains ─┬─ character-string ─┬─────────────────┤
   │            └─ mask-value ───────┘                 │
   └─┬─┬─ = ──┬─┬─ expression ─────────────────────────┘
     │ ├─ EQ ─┤ │
     │ └─ IS ─┘ │
     ├─┬─ ¬= ─┬─┤
     │ └─ NE ─┘ │
     ├─┬─ >= ─┬─┤
     │ └─ GE ─┘ │
     ├─┬─ > ──┬─┤
     │ └─ GT ─┘ │
     ├─┬─ <= ─┬─┤
     │ └─ LE ─┘ │
     └─┬─ < ──┬─┘
       └─ LT ─┘

Syntax rules:

function-expression

Allows you to use built-in aggregate functions to evaluate data. You can nest built-in functions.

field-reference

Note: For more information, see FIND / GET and COMPUTE Field-Reference Clause, later in this chapter.

= ¬= data-value

Specifies a range of data values to which the named field is compared.

THRU/TO data-value

Specifies a range of data values to which the named field is compared.

THRU indicates an inclusive range; TO indicates an exclusive range.

MATCHES mask-value

Specifies a mask value against which the named field is evaluated, character by character. The match is exact, starting with the first character in the mask. The following characters are available for use in the MATCHES clause:

• Asterisk (*) specifies any character. If an asterisk is specified, the entire MATCHES string must be enclosed in quotation marks.
• At sign (@) specifies any alphabetic character.
• Pound sign (#) specifies any numeric character.
• Any alphanumeric character— Specifies a match against itself.

CONTAINS

Specifies a character string or mask value for which the named field is searched. The CONTAINS value can appear anywhere within the named field. For example, the character string EL appears in FIELD, in ELEMENT, and in COMPEL.

• character-string—An exact sequence of characters for which the named field is searched.
• mask-value—A combination of specific (for example: T, 22) and general (for example, any numeric digit) characters for which the named field is to be searched. The special mask characters described above for MATCHES also apply to CONTAINS.

  Note: MATCHES and CONTAINS apply only to fields with a usage of display and do not allow values that contain double-byte character strings.

= ¬= >= > <= < expression

Specifies the comparison operator with which the named field is compared.

Note: For more information, see the expansion of expression later in this chapter.

For more information:

Coding Considerations

Built-In Functions and Syntax