there ain't no 'read previous' in UCS cobol 85 on a unisys 2200
HeyBub wrote:
> Ubiquitous wrote:
> > lxi0007@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> >
> >> I could have sworn that in COBOL class, we did something like this...
> >>
> >> move high-values to my-key
> >> start my-file
> >> key not > my-key
> >> read my-file previous record
> >>
> >> To read an indexed file backwards. However, today we were looking at
> >> the manual for the compiler, and it didn't have this form of the read
> >> statement in it. Am I imagining things? Is there a way to read an
> >> indexed file backwards (in effect, a descending key)?
> >
> > A coworker asked me the same question recently and I thought the
> > same thing, until we realized it was a CICS function. I think a
> > VSAM book said something about making an alternate index and
> > populating it with the 10's complement of the index.
>
> Yep. That's the hard way.
>
> SOME compilers permit READ PREVIOUS or READ PRIOR. It's a fairly easy
thing
> to incor****ate into a compiler, but evidently the one you're using now
does
> not sup****t the ability to do so.
