What is faster: multiple If-then or pos() or ???

[garion42]

Hi All!

I have a list of string which I want to check to see if a specific value is present. Currently, I have a list of ORs are part of an if-then statement, for example:

if part_name ="ABC" | part_name ="XYZ" | part_name="123" then

Currently there are about 20 values that I need to check and I need to add more. Aside from the fact that this construct is difficult to manage, I am looking for a way to optimize it as it runs every few seconds. In each case, if the string is found, the same action is performed.

I was thinking about creating a string and simply using like this:

if pos(part_name,MyString) > 0 then

In my mind using pos() would be faster than a list of ORs, but this is a gut feeling that I cannot (yet) explain. Would using pos() be faster?

 

[nclouston]

Why not test it yourself? Rexx has a timer function, within TIME(). You may have to do a lot of iterations before you get any useful measurement. You do not say which version of Rexx on which platform.


Nic