Comparison cycle

1. The first comparand is compared with an equal number of leftmost contiguous character positions in the inspected item. The comparand matches the inspected characters only if both are equal, character-for-character.

   If the CHARACTERS phrase is specified, an implied one-character comparand is used. The implied character is always considered to match the inspected character in the inspected item.

2. If no match occurs for the first comparand and there are more comparands, the comparison is repeated for each successive comparand until either a match is found or all comparands have been acted upon.
3. Depending on whether a match is found, these actions are taken:
   • If a match is found, tallying or replacing takes place as described in the TALLYING and REPLACING phrase descriptions.

     If there are more character positions in the inspected item, the first character position following the rightmost matching character is now considered to be in the leftmost character position. The process described in actions 1 and 2 is then repeated.

   • If no match is found and there are more character positions in the inspected item, the first character position following the leftmost inspected character is now considered to be in the leftmost character position. The process described in actions 1 and 2 is then repeated.
4. Actions 1 through 3 are repeated until the rightmost character position in the inspected item either has been matched or has been considered as being in the leftmost character position.

When the BEFORE or AFTER phrase is specified, the comparison cycle is modified, as described in BEFORE and AFTER phrases (all formats).