IBM Information Server, Version 8.1You can specify a large number of conditional values by creating a table of values file.
Tables can be specified as follows:
@table-file-name
For example, you want to test a number to see if it is one of a series of postal codes. You can first prepare an ASCII file with one line for each postal code. As an illustration, this file is named postcode.tbl and looks as follows:
90016 90034 90072 90043 ...
A pattern matching city, state, and postal code might look like:
? | S | ^ = @postcode.tbl
This matches to cases, such as LOS ANGELES CA nnnnn. If the numeric operand is in the list, the pattern matches; otherwise it does not. LOS ANGELES CA 90016 matches, but CHICAGO IL 12345 does not because the postal code is not in the table.
The table file name can contain complete or relative path information, including an environment variable. If a rule set has a path specified on a command line, that path is assumed for value files used in that Pattern-Action file for the rule set and the path cannot be specified a second time.
The dictionary field contents can also be tested against tables of values:
^ | T | {SN} = @strtname.tbl
If the dictionary field contents are not pattern operands, the test against a table of values must follow all pattern operands, including an end-of-field operand. The following example is not valid, since a pattern operand follows the table test:
^ | {SN} = @strtname.tbl | T
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