SRCHFOR
The ISPF search utility that finds a string in every member of one or more libraries.
Also written search-for, ISPF 3.14, ISPF 3.15, search all members
SRCHFOR, the ISPF search-for utility, looks for text across whole libraries. Where FIND searches the member you are editing, SRCHFOR searches every member of a library, or several libraries, at once, and lists every match.
You reach it from ISPF option 3.14, or 3.15 for the extended version. You can also type SRCHFOR on the command line of a member list or of DSLIST, which searches the members or datasets shown. You give one or more strings to look for, and options such as whether case matters or whether the string must be a whole word.
The output lists each member that contains the string, with the matching lines and their line numbers, and a summary of how many members matched.
It answers many everyday questions. Which programs use this copybook? Which jobs write to this dataset? Where is this field name used? Before changing anything shared, a search across the source libraries shows you who else will be affected.
Where can I learn this hands-on?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and learn each part of the work by doing it, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
Start at ZedBankRelated
- SuperCThe ISPF utility that compares two datasets or members and lists the differences.
- MemberOne named item inside a partitioned dataset, such as a single program, job or copybook within a library.
- Partitioned datasetA dataset that works like a library or folder, holding many separately named members inside one dataset.
- DSLISTISPF option 3.4, the screen for listing datasets by name and working with them from the list.
- Member listThe ISPF screen that lists the members of a library, with details of when each was changed and by whom.
- CopybookA shared block of COBOL declarations kept in a library and included into programs, so a record layout is defined once.