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Q: How does SEARCH ALL differ from SEARCH?
Answer:
SEARCH performs a sequential/linear search from the current index position. SEARCH ALL performs a binary search requiring the table to be sorted (ASCENDING/DESCENDING KEY clause) and indexed. SEARCH ALL is faster for large tables but requires sorted data.
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Q: What is SORT and MERGE in COBOL?
Answer:
SORT orders records: SORT SORT-FILE ON ASCENDING KEY-FIELD USING INPUT-FILE GIVING OUTPUT-FILE. INPUT/OUTPUT PROCEDURE allows processing during sort. MERGE combines pre-sorted files: MERGE SORT-FILE ON KEY USING FILE-1 FILE-2 GIVING OUTPUT-FILE.
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Q: How to define table with KEY?
Answer:
For binary search, tables need KEY: 05 WS-TABLE OCCURS 100 ASCENDING KEY WS-CODE INDEXED BY WS-IDX. 10 WS-CODE PIC X(5). 10 WS-DESC PIC X(20). SEARCH ALL requires sorted data per KEY. Multiple keys for complex sorts.
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Q: How to define OCCURS ASCENDING?
Answer:
05 TABLE OCCURS 100 ASCENDING KEY IS CODE-FIELD INDEXED BY IDX. 10 CODE-FIELD PIC X(5). 10 DATA-FIELD PIC X(20). ASCENDING means lower values first. Required for SEARCH ALL. DESCENDING also available. Key must be within occurrence.