INCLUDE Coding Constants
Coding constants within the INCLUDE statement refers to using fixed values (constants) as part of a condition to filter records. Constants are used to compare against fields in the records, choosing which records should be included in the processing (sort, merge, or copy). These constants can be alphanumeric, numeric, or hexadecimal values.
Syntax -
//SYSIN DD *
SORT FIELDS=COPY
INCLUDE COND=(field1_starting_position, field1_length, field1_format,
relational_operator, constant)
/*There are different formats to code different constants in the condition and those are shown below -
| Alphanumeric or character strings (CH) | Used for alphanumeric string comparisons. The format is: C'a...z' where x is a character. |
| Hexadecimal strings | Used for hexadecimal comparisons. The format is: X'yy...yy' where yy is a pair of hexadecimal digits. |
| Numeric values or Numbers (ZD, PD, BI) | Used for numeric comparisons. The format is: n...n or ±n...n where n is a decimal digit. |
| field1_starting_position | Specifies the starting position of field1 to be compared |
| field1_length | Specifies the length of the field1 to be compared |
| field1_format | Specifies the format of the field1. Use BI (Binary) for Alphanumeric tests |
| relational_operator | used for condition comparison. The available operators are -
EQ Equal to NE Not equal to GT Greater than GE Greater than or equal to LT Less than LE Less than or equal to |
| Constant | Specifies the constant to be compared |
Examples -
Scenario1 - Alphanumeric Constant.
INCLUDE COND=(1,3,CH,EQ,C'ABC')It includes only records where the first 3 characters of the record are equal to 'ABC'.
Scenario2 - Numeric Constant (Zoned Decimal).
INCLUDE COND=(10,5,ZD,GT,5000)It includes records where the 5-byte zoned decimal field starting at position 10 is greater than 5000.
Scenario3 - Packed Decimal Constant
INCLUDE COND=(15,4,PD,EQ,100)It includes records where the 4-byte packed decimal field starting at position 15 equals 100.
Scenario4 - Multiple Conditions with Constants (AND).
INCLUDE COND=(1,3,CH,EQ,C'XYZ',AND,20,4,ZD,GE,1000)It includes records where the first 3 characters (starting at position 1) are equal to 'XYZ' and the 4-byte zoned decimal field starting at position 20 is greater than or equal to 1000.
Scenario5 - Multiple Conditions with Constants (OR).
INCLUDE COND=(5,2,CH,EQ,C'AA',OR,10,3,CH,EQ,C'123')It includes records where the 2-character field starting at position 5 equals 'AA', or the 3-character field starting at position 10 equals '123'.