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FIND
Locates entries in a single data set.
Syntax
{relation }
F[IND] [#LIMIT=i;] {item identifier M[ATCHING] "pattern"}
[{AND} {relation }]
[{OR } {item identifier M[ATCHING] "pattern"}]... [END]
For example:
>FIND BADGE# IS "09.18"
Where relation = BADGE# IS "09.18"
>FIND L-NAME IS MARTENSEN AND F-NAME IS SALLY
Where relation = L-NAME IS MARTENSEN AND F-NAME IS SALLY
>F STATE M "C?"
Where item identifier = STATE and pattern = "C?"
Parameters
i is an integer specifying the maximum number of
qualifying entries you want to retrieve. i must
be > 0. If you specify a negative number, QUERY
ignores your input. When the #LIMIT parameter is
specified, only the first i qualifying entries are
placed in the select file. If fewer than i
qualifying entries exist, then all entries that
qualify are put into the select file.
item identifier takes the form:
[data base name:] [data set name.] data item name
[(subscript)]
data base name is the name of a data base
specified in either the DEFINE, DATA-BASE=, or
MULTIDB command.
data set name is the name of a data set in a
currently open data base. If a data base is
specified, the data set must belong to that data
base.
data item name is either the name of a simple data
item, or the name of a compound data item with an
optional (subscript) parameter. If a data set
name is used, the data item must belong to the
specified data set. For matching, the data item
must be type X or U.
subscript is a number to indicate which sub-item
you want to locate. Subscript is entered with
parenthesis, and must be an integer >= 1 and <=
the number of sub-items defined for the compound
data item. QUERY defaults to the first sub-item
if no subscript is specified.
MATCHING allows you to retrieve data based on the
comparison of data item values with a specified
pattern.
"pattern" is defined by pattern matching specifications.
Pattern must be enclosed in quotation marks.
relation takes the form:
[data base name:] [data set name.] data item name
[(subscript)] relop "valued" [,"valued"]...
relop is a relational operator as shown in Table
3-1.
value is the data item value. It must be the same
type and within the same value range as the data
item named in the relation. Value need not be
enclosed in quotation marks unless the value
contains special characters. Values not in
quotation marks will be upshifted. For example,
California is changed to CALIFORNIA before it is
compared to data item values in the data base.
However, data items of type X are not upshifted if
no quotation marks are used. Value must be an
exact match for character type data items (type U
and X).
Null values will cause QUERY to prompt you for the
values that you want to retrieve. Refer to "Using
Null Values" under the FIND command.
END must be included in a procedure.
Methods of Retrieval
If a FIND command is entered, QUERY will use either a keyed (indexed) or
a serial method of retrieval. A keyed retrieval occurs when master or
detail data set search keys can be used to locate entries. A serial read
occurs when the data set requires serial scanning without the benefit of
search keys.
In some cases, a serial method of retrieval may take a great deal of
time. If you decide you do not want to wait for completion, you can
abort a search by entering CONTROL Y. QUERY will print the number of
qualifying entries and ask you if you want to continue the search. A
"NO" reply will store the record addresses of retrieved entries in a
select file and discontinue retrieval of additional entries. Search time
can also be controlled with the #LIMIT parameter which specifies the
maximum number of qualifying entries you want to retrieve.
Table 3-1. FIND Command Relational Operators
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| | |
| OPERATOR | MEANING |
| | |
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| | |
| = | is equal to |
| IS | (Multiple values may be used with these operators.) |
| IE | |
| EQ | |
| | |
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| | |
| # | is not equal to |
| <> | (Multiple values may be used with these operators.) |
| ISNOT | |
| INE | |
| NE | |
| | |
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| | |
| < | is less than |
| ILT | |
| LT | |
| | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
| >= | is not less than (is greater than or equal to) |
| INLT | |
| GE | |
| | |
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| | |
| > | is greater than |
| IGT | |
| GT | |
| | |
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| | |
| <= | is not greater than (is less than or equal to) |
| INGT | |
| LE | |
| | |
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| | |
| IB value1 , value2 | is between (and including) value1 and value2 |
| | |
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| | |
| | Note: The operators <>, <=, and >= cannot have any |
| | intervening spaces (embedded blanks). |
| | |
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U and X Type Values
When entering values for X and U type data items, the values must appear
exactly as the data was originally entered. For example, if the data
item STREET-ADDRESS has a value with three spaces between the street
number and name, you must enter those spaces or QUERY will not find the
item. Leading blanks must also be entered if they appear in the item.
Since blanks or spaces are special characters all such values must be
enclosed in quotation marks.
Logical Connectors
To make more than one comparison for each entry selected, you connect
relations with the logical connector AND or OR. The AND connector
instructs QUERY to select only those entries whose data item values
satisfy the relations on both sides of the AND. The OR connector
indicates that the entries are selected if one (or both) of the two
relations on either side of the OR is satisfied.
Both types of logical connectors can appear in a FIND command. All
relations connected with AND are examined as if they were surrounded by
parenthesis. Any relation or set of relations separated from others by
OR are compared to the data entry and the entry is selected if the
relations are true. For example, the command:
>FIND A = 3 AND B = 4 OR C IGT 9 END
locates all entries with both A equal to 3 and B equal to 4 as well as
all entries containing a C value greater than 9. The command:
>FIND A = 3 OR A = 2 AND B = 5 AND C = 8 OR B = 9 END
locates all entries with either A equal to 3 or A equal to 2 and B equal
to 5 and C equal to 8, or entries with B equal to 9.
Parentheses cannot be used in a command, but you can create constructs
which act as parentheses and force an OR comparison to take precedence
over an AND comparison. For example, if Cn stands for a relation:
(C1 or C2 ) and C3
is represented as:
C1 and C3 or C2 and C3
Up to 50 logical connectors may be used in one FIND command.
Compound Items
A compound data item is an item that occurs more than once in the same
data entry. Each occurrence of the data item is called a sub-item. Each
may have a value and any or all sub-items in a data entry can be
accessed.
For example, if you have defined a compound item called MONTHLY-SALES
with 12 sub-items (1 for each month), a retrieval of all entries with
June sales of greater than $2000 could look like this:
>FIND MONTHLY-SALES(6) > 2000
If no subscript is specified, the subscript is assumed to be the first
sub-item.
Multiple Values
To specify more than one value for the same data item, list the values
one after the other, separated by commas. For example, the command:
>FIND STATE IS "CALIFORNIA","NEVADA","WASHINGTON"
locates the entries with the value of data item STATE equal to either
CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, OR WASHINGTON. The above command is equal to:
>FIND STATE IS "CALIFORNIA" OR STATE IS "NEVADA" OR STATE IS "WASHINGTON"
Multiple values can only be used with the "equal" or "not equal"
relational operators.
Using Null Values
The FIND command can prompt you for data item values to be compared with
data item values in the data entries of the data set. To do this, you
use null data item values in the command. Null values are represented by
a pair of quotation marks without any intervening characters or blank
spaces (""). When the command is executed, you are prompted to enter a
value for each null value in the command. This is useful when the FIND
command is stored as a procedure in a Proc-file.
The procedure can be executed using different comparison values without
modifying the procedure each time. For example, the following command
would prompt you for a value of ACCOUNT with the following message.
>FIND SALES.ACCOUNT <> ""
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF - ACCOUNT
>>24536173
USING SERIAL READ
10 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
QUERY searches the appropriate data set for the values you specify. The
value should be entered without the surrounding quotes since all
characters entered (including leading blanks, quotes, and other special
characters) are significant. Lowercase characters are upshifted unless
the data item type is X. The maximum value size is 72 characters.
You are prompted once for each null value in the command. You must
supply a value for each null value in the procedure. You can use a known
invalid response if you do not want to find another entry. For example:
>FIND CUSTOMER.CITY IS "",""
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF - CITY
>>PETALUMA
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF - CITY
>>X
USING SERIAL READ
1 ENTRIES QUALIFIED.
When using null values from a FIND command in an XEQ file, the XEQ
parameter NODATA must be used. This parameter indicates that the values
to be searched for are not included in the FIND command but must be
entered by you. Refer to the XEQ command for more information about
using null values.
In session mode, supply the desired value after each prompt message. In
job mode, you must anticipate the order of prompts and supply the desired
values, one per record, following the FIND command.
Examples
Example 1
To determine whether or not a customer is already in the data set, you
can try to find the name.
>FIND LAST-NAME IS MARTENSEN
USING SERIAL READ
0 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
Example 2
Since ACCOUNT is in more than one data set you can either qualify the
data item name or let QUERY prompt you for it. The response, SALES, is
automatically entered in the data set list.
>FIND CUSTOMER.ACCOUNT EQ 24536173
USING SERIAL READ
1 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
>DATA SETS=
>FIND ACCOUNT EQ 24536173
ACCOUNT IS A MEMBER OF THESE SETS:
CUSTOMER,SALES
WHICH SET DO YOU WISH TO USE?
>>SALES
3 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
Example 3
In the example below, QUERY uses the data set list to determine which of
the three data sets containing STOCK# to use. Since SALES was placed in
the data set list in the previous example, it is used. However, the data
item DESCRIPTION is in the PRODUCT data set, and the FIND command can
only refer to one data set so an error results. It is usually best to
clear the data set list if you are unsure about what it contains.
PRODUCT was entered in the data set list automatically as a result of the
previous command, so QUERY uses PRODUCT and does not prompt for the data
set name.
>F STOCK# IGT 33333333 AND DESCRIPTION IS "NEHRU JACKET"
RETRIEVAL FROM MORE THAN ONE DATA SET
>S=
>F STOCK# IGT 33333333 AND DESCRIPTION IS "NEHRU JACKET"
STOCK# IS A MEMBER OF THESE SETS:
PRODUCT, SALES, INVENTORY
WHICH SET DO YOU WISH TO USE?
>>PRODUCT
USING SERIAL READ
0 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
>F STOCK# IGT 33333333 AND DESCRIPTION IS "NEHRU JACKET"
USING SERIAL READ
0 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
Example 4
The following error occurs because an ampersand is used to continue the
line but there is no space before it or at the beginning of the next
line.
>F ACCOUNT IGT 55555555 AND STATE IS CA OR ACCOUNT IS 121212121&
>>AND STATE IS MA OR CUSTOMER.STATE IS AZ
ACCOUNT IS A MEMBER OF THESE SETS:
CUSTOMER,SALES
WHICH SET DO YOU WISH TO USE?
>>CUSTOMER
INVALID NUMERIC DIGIT
Example 5
All items which appear in multiple sets must be qualified unless the set
name is in the set list. After entries are located you can use the
REPORT command to print the data.
>F CUSTOMER.ACCOUNT IGT 55555555 AND STATE IS CA OR ACCOUNT&
>> IS 121212 AND STATE IS MA OR STATE IS AZ
STATE IS A MEMBER OF THESE SETS
CUSTOMER,SUP-MASTER
WHICH SET DO YOU WISH TO USE?
>>CUSTOMER
6 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
>REPORT D,ACCOUNT,10;D,STATE,15;END
76623455 CA
74001813 CA
87654321 CA
80808080 CA
77765555 CA
99998877 CA
Example 6
A simpler technique for determining the data set to be used is to enter
it into the data set list with a DATA-SETS= command.
>S=CUSTOMER
>F ACCOUNT IGT 55555555 AND STATE IS CA OR ACCOUNT IS 12121212&
>> AND STATE IS MA OR STATE IS AZ
USING SERIAL READ
6 ENTRIES QUALIFIED
Generic Search
A pattern consists of a series of the following special characters that
indicate the type of data that can be entered in that position:
a upper or lowercase alphabetic character (A-Z, a-z)
u uppercase alphabetic character (A-Z)
l lowercase alphabetic character (a-z)
b blank
d digit (0-9)
? any character
Note: A pattern must specify the maximum number of characters allowed
for the data item length. Therefore, to find data item values of varying
lengths, you must specify that the rest of the data item value is filled
with blanks. Refer to the discussion of repetition for more information.
The beginning of the pattern is defined by a beginning quotation mark and
the end is defined by an ending quotation mark. QUERY does not read
spaces as blanks; therefore, you can leave spaces inside a pattern to
allow for better readability.
The matching pattern can include specific characters in addition to the
types listed above. For example:
MATCHING "Aaa-dddd"
The pattern above means that the value must start with the letter "A"
followed by any two upper or lowercase letters, followed by a hyphen and
any four digits. For example, the values "Acs-1234" and "AAA-9999" are
acceptable, but the values "Bcs-1223" and "A12-345" are not acceptable.
Transparency
A special operator can be used to indicate that a special character is to
be used as an actual value. For example, suppose you want the lowercase
letter "a" to be an exact value in the pattern, you can do this by
preceding it, or any of the other special characters, with an exclamation
point (!). For example:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
| MATCHING "!ad" | Value must start with the letter "a" |
| | followed by one digit. |
| | |
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The exclamation point (called the transparency operator) is also used to
allow inclusion of any of the pattern operators listed below and
described in Table 3-2.
! transparency
, choice
: range
{ } grouping
[ ] optional
+ repetition (1 or more)
* repetition (0 or more)
Choice
You can indicate a selection of acceptable patterns as part of the
MATCHING pattern. Each possible choice is separated by a comma. For
example:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
| MATCHING "ABCD,DEFG,dddd" | The values "ABCD", "DEFG", or any four |
| | digits are acceptable. |
| | |
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Range
A range of acceptable characters for a single character position can be
indicated with the colon. All characters within the range are
acceptable. This acts as shorthand for listing a series of single
characters in ASCII sequence. For example:
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| | |
| MATCHING "Cb:Jb" | This pattern would accept the values C, D, |
| | E, F, G, H, I, J in a two-character field. |
| | |
| MATCHING "10:15" | The values 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are |
| | accepted by this pattern. |
| | |
| MATCHING "!a?:f?" | Since "a" is a special character, it is |
| | preceded by an exclamation point (!). |
| | Other characters in the range (except the |
| | special character ?) are implicitly |
| | preceded by this operator. This pattern is |
| | equivalent to: MATCHING |
| | "!a?,!b?,!c?,!d?,!e?,!f?". |
| | |
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Grouping and Optional
You can group pattern specifications by enclosing the pattern in braces {
} or brackets [ ]. Braces indicate that data must correspond to one item
in the group. Brackets make the pattern optional, indicating that data
can correspond to one or none of the items in the pattern. For example:
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| | |
| MATCHING "{AAA,BBB,CCC} ddd" | One of the choices within the braces must |
| | be matched. The values "AAA123" and |
| | "BBB999" and "CCC562", among others, are |
| | acceptable matches for this pattern. |
| | |
| MATCHING "[A,B,C] ddd [b]" | The choices within the brackets can be |
| | omitted, or one can be matched. For |
| | example, "A345", "C567", "B441", and "123" |
| | are acceptable matches. |
| | |
| MATCHING "[u,d] !+ [1:5]" | Accepts such values as "A+", "3+", and |
| | "+5". |
| | |
| MATCHING "{[-,dd] dd [b,d]}" | Accepts such values as "-125" or "2345" or |
| | "500" or "-10". |
| | |
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Repetition
Repetition of any character or sets of characters can be indicated by an
asterisk (*) or by a plus sign (+) following any pattern character or
pattern group within braces { }. A plus sign (+) means that at least one
occurrence of the pattern is required for the match. An asterisk (*)
means that zero or more occurrences can be matched. (These repetition
indicators cannot follow items enclosed within brackets [ ].) For
example:
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| | |
| MATCHING "d+b*" | The plus sign indicates repetition of the |
| | digit, with at least one occurrence |
| | required for the match. Thus, "2" or |
| | "745227" or "55" are acceptable, but a |
| | blank is not. |
| | |
| MATCHING "Xd+b*" | This pattern accepts the letter X followed |
| | by one or more digits. "X1" or "X12323" |
| | and so forth are acceptable, but not "X". |
| | |
| MATCHING "M {A,C,d}+" | A plus sign after the braces indicates |
| | repetition of any item within the braces, |
| | in any order. Some acceptable values are |
| | "MAC1", "MCCC", or "M123". |
| | |
| MATCHING "d*b*" | The asterisk indicates optional repetition |
| | that allows zero or more occurrences of the |
| | pattern. Thus, the digit can be omitted, |
| | or repeated any number of times. Nothing |
| | or "3" or "123456" are all acceptable |
| | patterns. |
| | |
| MATCHING "[d+]b*" | This pattern is another way of expressing |
| | the pattern shown above as d*b*. |
| | |
| MATCHING "a+" | Accepts an alphabetic value. |
| | |
| MATCHING "Xu*b*" | This pattern accepts "X" alone or followed |
| | by any number of uppercase letters. For |
| | example, "XABC" or "XX" or "X" are all |
| | acceptable. |
| | |
| MATCHING "M+ {A,D,d}*" | Any of the enclosed characters can be |
| | repeated in any order, or can be omitted. |
| | Thus, "MMMM" is acceptable, as are "MAA1", |
| | "MCCA", "M222", and so forth. |
| | |
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When you use a pattern to find variable length values such as "1", "12"
and "123", you must indicate that blanks following the value fill the
rest of the length of the item. For example, if a data item type is X6
and the value contained in the item is "123", there are three blanks
following the value. In this case, the pattern "ddd" will not find the
value. The pattern must account for the blanks that fill the item
length. The pattern "dddb*" will find the value if blanks follow the
value. If other characters or unknown characters follow the value, you
can use the pattern "ddd?*".
Operator Hierarchy
The pattern operators are evaluated in the following order, where x and y
are any patterns.
Highest !x Transparency
| x:y Range
| x+ or x* Repetition
v xy Concatenation
Lowest x,y Choice
Some further examples of the MATCHING statement are:
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| | |
| MATCHING "1ddd" | Accepts an integer between 1000 and 1999. |
| | Can also be expressed as "1000:1999". |
| | |
| MATCHING "[d] [d!:dd] b* [AM,PM]" | Accepts a time such as "3:00 PM" or |
| | "12:00". |
| | |
| MATCHING "{1:7} {0:7}* b*" | Accepts a number greater than zero with at |
| | least one digit and no leading zeros, such |
| | as "2047", or "1", or "74". |
| | |
| MATCHING "ddd-dd-ddddb" | Accepts any social security number, such as |
| | "044-24-0474". |
| | |
| MATCHING "[(ddd)] ddd-dddd b* | Accepts a phone number with an optional |
| | area code. |
| | |
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Table 3-2 summarizes the operators allowed in a MATCHING pattern.
Table 3-2. MATCHING Pattern Operators
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| | | |
| OPERATOR | FUNCTION | EXAMPLE |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| ! | Transparency operator allows use of any | MATCHING "!u,!d,!,,!!" |
| | special MATCHING characters as an element | accepts any of the values |
| | in the pattern. | "u", "d", "," or "!". |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| , | Choice of subpatterns any one of which | MATCHING "A,B,dd" accepts |
| | satisfies the match. | values such as "A", "B" |
| | | and "22". |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| : | Range of single characters in ascending | MATCHING "2:6" accepts the |
| | ASCII order, any one of which satisfies the | values "2", "3", "4", "5" |
| | match. | or "6". |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| { } | Grouping (required) requires one occurrence | MATCHING "{A,B}dd{%,d}" |
| | of any pattern within braces. | accepts "A223", "B34%", |
| | | "A795" and so forth. |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| [ ] | Grouping (optional) allows zero or 1 | MATCHING "[A,B]dd[%,d]" |
| | occurrence of any item in a pattern within | accepts "24", "A99", |
| | brackets [ ]. | "10%", "123" and so forth. |
| | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | |
| + | Repetition (required) requires one or more | MATCHING "Xd+" accepts |
| | occurrences of a preceding item, or a | values such as "X1", |
| | pattern within braces { }. | "X22", "X3334789" and so |
| | | forth, but not "X". |
| | | |
| | | MATCHING "{d,a}+" accepts |
| | | values such as "11" "A23", |
| | | "acb", "33ABC9". |
| | | |
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| | | |
| * | Repetition (optional) allows zero or more | MATCHING "Xd*" accepts |
| | occurrences of a preceding item or a | values such as "X", "X1", |
| | pattern within braces { }. | "X22" and "X3334789". |
| | | |
| | | MATCHING "{d,a}*" accepts |
| | | a null value, or such |
| | | values as "11", "A23", |
| | | "acb" or "33ABC9". |
| | | |
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