Re: Cobol Linear search Vs Perfrom Until

docdwarf_at_panix.com
Date: 07/17/04 

Date: 17 Jul 2004 17:56:14 -0400

In article <10fj7m72rqirp58@corp.supernews.com>,
LX-i <lxi0007@netscape.net> wrote:
>Glenn Someone wrote:
>
>> On 17 Jul 2004 09:53:48 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>>and all this peeking and poking about,
>>>above and below, makes me... uncomfortable.'
>>
>>
>> It really shouldn't. The way I see it is that a program design is
>> getting introduced that is making you uncomfortable because it's
>> something different than what you've already encountered. If everyone
>> had this attitude, computer science wouldn't be developing and moving
>> its way forward and we'd still be in the Grace Murray Hopper days of
>> punch cards.
>
>Both Mr. Stevens and Mr. Klein have stated that the results are
>undefined when you do a binary search on a table with duplicate keys.

A correction, Mr Summers: Mr Stevens and Mr Klein have pointed out that
the Standard reports the results of a SEARCH ALL against a table with
duplicate keys is unpredictable. While a SEARCH ALL *may* be implemented
by a vendor as a binary search... what I think is trying to be pointed out
is that there are other binary searches (hand-rolled ones) which are not
SEARCH ALL and which, therefore, might have... less unpredictability.

DD

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cobol Linear search Vs Perfrom Until
    ... >>Both Mr. Stevens and Mr. Klein have stated that the results are ... >>undefined when you do a binary search on a table with duplicate keys. ... will aid in understanding.) ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: SEARCH ALL
    ... The standards rules are the same for duplicate keys *so long as you're not ... -Chuck Stevens ... >> the WHEN clause are sufficient to identify uniquely the table element. ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)