Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours

Hour 17Sorting

One of the tasks frequently required in business is data file sorting. Reports are created from data files in different sequences, allowing business professionals to analyze information and make sound business decisions. Sorting data frequently occurs within the normal business process. In this hour, various aspects of sorting are covered, including topics such as

• The Sort Work File

• The Sort Key

• The Using and Giving clauses

• Preprocessing Input, using the Input Procedure

• Post-Sort processing, using the Output Procedure

Sometimes data is sorted prior to being loaded to an Indexed file. As you found out in Hour 14, “Indexed Files,” you cannot Write records to an Indexed file Open for Output with Sequential access unless ...