Identification Section

The identification section describes the data file described by the XFD. It contains information about the version of XFD created and the data file type (indexed, relative, or sequential). It also lists the data file's SELECT and base file name, as well as basic record information (such as minimum and maximum record size and number of keys).

Consider the following SELECT statement:

SELECT clients ASSIGN TO DISK "clients.dat"
ORGANIZATION IS INDEXED
...  
RECORD KEY IS cl-client-id
ALTERNATE RECORD KEY IS key01 = cl-first-name, cl-last-name
  WITH DUPLICATES.

In a simple text XFD, the identification section appears similar to the following:

# [Identification Section]
XFD,06,CLIENTS,CLIENTS,12
0000000197,0000000197,002
000,18,046,044,00

Here, XFD,06 specifies that the XFD file was created in version 6 format. The SELECT and base file name are both CLIENTS, and the data file is in indexed format (12). The other available file formats are relative (08), and sequential (04).

The minimum and maximum record length for the file described in the XFD are the same (0000000197), and there are 002 keys.

The next line of digits are derived from various compile options and program settings that may be used when creating the XFD. The first three-digit sequence (000) indicates sign compatibility. The possible values are:

The above values are set by the -Dc compiler options. See Data Storage Options for details on using these options.

The next two-digit sequence (18) indicates the maximum numeric digits. The possible values are 18 and 31. This is set by the -Dd31 compiler option.

The next three-digit sequence (046) indicates the decimal value of the character used as the program period.

The next three-digit sequence (044) indicates the decimal value of the character used as the program comma.

The last two-digit sequence (00) is a UNICODE indicator.

In XML format, the same information is presented as follows:

<xfd:identification xfd:version="6">
  <xfd:select-name>CLIENTS</xfd:select-name>
  <xfd:table-name>CLIENTS</xfd:table-name>
  <xfd:file-organization>Indexed</xfd:file-organization>
  <xfd:maximum-record-size>197</xfd:maximum-record-size>
  <xfd:minimum-record-size>197</xfd:minimum-record-size>
  <xfd:number-of-keys>2</xfd:number-of-keys>
  <xfd:sign-compatibility>0</xfd:sign-compatibility>
  <xfd:maximum-numeric-digits>18</xfd:maximum-numeric-digits>
  <xfd:period-character>.</xfd:period-character>
  <xfd:comma-character>,</xfd:comma-character>
  <xfd:alphabet>ASCII</xfd:alphabet>
</xfd:identification>