RE: SQL to only check for existence:

["Elvis Budimlic" <ebudimlic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't know what has happened on that front with new releases and SQE
enhancements, but do recall discussing this couple of years ago:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.as400.misc/browse_thread/thread/
eaaa26eeba43fc5f/073c8bf3733da4bd?q=sql+exists&rnum=1#073c8bf3733da4bd
or 
http://tinyurl.com/gum3r

Test out some of the ideas mentioned at that link and let us know what you
find. 

Elvis

-----Original Message-----
Subject: SQL to only check for existence:

hey all,

Is there a way to run an SQL statement that doesn't (necessarily)
return anything, but only checks for the existence of one or more
records based on a where statement - similar to a SETLL and %found?

I've got a rather complicated SQL statement using:
LIKE '___abc___'    or it could be:
LIKE ______xyz'

- over a very large file, and I'm having performance issues.

I don't want to do a count(), because I don't care how many, only that
at least one exists.   with count, it would have to read through the
entire file to determine it.

I also tried just doing a select - optimize for 1 row and a single
fetch, but that seemed to take forever too.  It appears as if it is
searching the entire file, instead of stopping at the first one.

help!

Rick