SEARCH in COBOL.| COBOL SEARCH | SEARCH ALL.

SEARCH ALL 

In today's tutorial, you will learn how to search the array/tables in COBOL. This tutorial examines the operation of the SEARCH and SEARCH ALL verbs. The term SEARCH in COBOL is used for linear searches, and SEARCH ALL in COBOL is used for binary searches. Also, you will learn mandatory entries for Data Division and Procedure Division.

Tables are extremely important in COBOL, as they are in any other computer language. You can refer Master ARRAY In COBOL In Just A Few Minutes! if you are not familiar with declaring an array in COBOL. So, let's start with the tutorial.
What is a search in COBOL?

In COBOL, or in any other programming language the term search is used to find specific value in an array/table. The task of searching a table/array to determine whether it contains a particular value is a common operation. The method used to search a table depends heavily on the way the values are organized in the table/array.

What is a linear search in COBOL?

In COBOL, If you define a one dimension array and values are not ordered, then the only strategy available is a linear search. A linear search starts at the first element and then examines each succeeding element until the item is found or until the end of the table is reached (an item not found).

Linear Search Syntax.

SEARCH identifier [VARYING {identifier-2/index-name}]

[AT END statement]

[WHEN condition statements]

[END-SEARCH]

Note: The SEARCH statement does not initialize the search index. You must do this with a SET statement (described earlier in the chapter) or by using some other programmatic way to ensure that it has a valid starting value before you start the search.

What is a binary search in COBOL?

In COBOL, A binary search works by dividing the table in half and determining whether the item sought is in the top half of the table or the bottom half. This process continues until the item is found or it is determined that the item is not in the table.

COBOL has special verbs that let you search for tables using either strategy. The SEARCH verb is used for linear searches, and the SEARCH ALL verb is used for binary searches.

SEARCH ALL Syntax.

SEARCH ALL identifier-1

AT END imperative statement-1

WHEN equal-condition-1 and equal-condition-2

{imperative statement-2}

{NEXT SENTENCE}

END-SEARCH

Note: In COBOL, If the values are ordered, then you have the option of using either a linear search or a binary search.

COBOL SEARCH VS COBOL SEARCH ALL

One advantage of using SEARCH or SEARCH ALL rather than a handcrafted search is that because these are specialized instructions, their operation can be optimized. Part of that optimization involves creating a special subscript to be used when searching the table. You create this special subscript using an extension to the OCCURS clause called the INDEXED BY clause.

INDEXED BY Clause

Before you can use SEARCH or SEARCH ALL to search a table, you must define the table as having an index item associated with it. Using an index makes searching more efficient. Because the index is linked to a particular table, the compiler—taking into account the size of the table—can choose the most efficient representation possible for the index. This speeds up the search.

Using SET to Manipulate the Table Index

A table index is a special data item. It has no PICTURE clause, it is associated with a particular table, and the compiler defines the index using the most computationally efficient representation possible. Because of its special binary representation, the table index cannot be displayed and can only be assigned a value, or have its value assigned, by the SET verb. Similarly, the SET verb must be used to increment or decrement the value of an index item.

SEARCH and SEARCH ALL in COBOL with example.
SEQUENTIAL SEARCH in COBOL example

Here is an example of using this format of the SEARCH statement:

SET PRICE-TABLE-INDEX TO 1.

MOVE "N" TO PTABLE-EOF-SWITCH.

PERFORM UNTIL PTABLE-EOF

  SEARCH PRICE-GROUP

    AT END

       MOVE "Y" TO PTABLE-EOF-SWITCH

    WHEN ITEM-PRICE (PRICE-TABLE-INDEX) = ITEM-PRICE

       DISPLAY "ITEM NUMBER: " ITEM-NUMBER (PRICE-TABLE-INDEX)

  END-SEARCH

  SET PRICE-TABLE-INDEX UP BY 1

END-PERFORM.

SEARCH ALL IN COBOL with example.

Here is an example of using this format of the SEARCH statement:

01 STATE-SALES-TAX.

  03 TAX-TABLE OCCURS 50 TIMES INDEXED BY STATE-INDEX

     ASCENDING KEY IS STATE.

     05 STATE   PIC XX.

     05 TAX    PIC 99V999.

01 RECORD-X.

  03 NAME PIC X(20)

  …

  03 STATE PIC XX.

  SEARCH ALL TAX-TABLE

    AT END

      DISPLAY “No Such State”

      GO TO BAD-STATE

  WHEN STATE OF TAX-TABLE(STATE-INDEX) = STATE OF RECORD-X

    CONTINUE

  END-SEARCH.

* At this point, STATE-INDEX points to the table entry for this

* state

  MOVE TAX(STATE-INDEX) TO …

Conclusion.

Since tables are commonly used in business programs, all COBOL programmers need to be adept at using them. Although you can use either subscripts or indexes to work with tables, the use of indexes generally leads to more efficient processing and code that’s easier to understand. When you use indexes, you can also perform binary searches when the table entries are sorted by the key field. This can dramatically improve searching efficiency in a large table. For these reasons, you should use indexes for all but the simplest tables.