The rules language supports installation definable symbolic fields - filter lists. The DEFFILT statement defines a filter list within the rules language. A filter list must be defined in the rules language before being used in a rule definition. For more information and examples, examine Filter lists.
Filter lists are more efficient than tables. Each time a table is referenced, the rules compiler builds data structures for each token found in the table. Filter lists produce a single data structure that all references in the rule language share.
A filter list can provide both INCLUDE and EXCLUDE token lists on the same filter definition. The INCLUDE parameter on the DEFFILT statement defines a token list that might have exceptions. The EXCLUDE parameter defines the exceptions.
The INCLUDE and EXCLUDE parameters that define a filter list may contain comments, blank lines, literal strings, other symbolic fields and tables. Literals with wildcard characters, and symbolic fields with substrings are also allowed. The entries may be separated by commas or blanks.
By default, filter lists are character type symbolic fields. If you wish to define a filter list to be used in numeric compares, you must specify NUMERIC immediately after the filter list name.
During language tracing, compare processing displays the trace message comparing a symbolic field to the entire filter list -- not a message for each token in the filter list.
Lastly, the DEFFILT statement has an alias of FILTLIST.
DEFFILT name
NUMERIC
INCLUDE( token1,token2,... ) EXCLUDE( token1,token2,... )
name
Function: This is a required parameter. The name parameter is used to
define the name of the filter list. The name is an installation definable symbolic field. Expressions used by IF-THEN-ELSE statements, and pool definitions can use the new symbolic name.
Default: None
Format: Specify a name 1 to 16 characters long.
Function: This is an optional parameter. By default, filter lists are character type symbolic fields. If you wish to define a filter list to be used in numeric compares, you must specify NUMERIC immediately after the filter list name.
Default: None
Format: NUMERIC
INCLUDE( token1,token2,... )
Function: INCLUDE and/or EXCLUDE are required parameters. The INCLUDE parameter defines the token list used in a filter definition. The INCLUDE filter list may contain comments, blank lines, literal strings, other symbolic fields and tables. Literals with wildcard characters, and symbolic fields with substrings are also allowed. The entries may be separated by commas or blanks.
Entries in the INCLUDE list define the conditions that must successfully be compared with another symbolic field.
Default: None
Format: The tokens must be placed within parentheses, and should be separated by commas or blanks. If continuation is required, omit the right parenthesis, and continue the list on the following line. The right parenthesis will terminate the token list.
INCLUDE( token1,token2,... )
EXCLUDE( token1,token2,... )
Function: INCLUDE and/or EXCLUDE are required parameters. The EXCLUDE parameter defines the token list used in a filter definition. The EXCLUDE filter list may contain comments, blank lines, literal strings, and other symbolic fields. Literals with wildcard characters, and symbolic fields with substrings are also allowed. The entries may be separated by commas or blanks.
Entries in the EXCLUDE list define the conditions that must fail comparison with another symbolic field.
Default: None
Format: The tokens must be placed within parentheses, and should be separated by commas or blanks. If continuation is required, omit the right parenthesis, and continue the list on the following line. The right parenthesis will terminate the token list.
EXCLUDE( token1,token2,... )