File Description Entry Skeleton

The file description comprises information concerning the physical structure, identification, and record-names pertaining to a given file.

ANS85 It determines the internal or external attributes of a file connector, of the associated data records, and of the associated data items. The file description entry also determines whether a file-name is a local name or a global name.

General Formats for Format 1 (Record Sequential Files)


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MF 

General Formats for Format 2 (Line Sequential Files)


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General Formats for Format 3 (Relative and Indexed Files)


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General Formats for Format 4 (Sort-Merge Files)


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Syntax Rules for All Formats (All Files)

  1. The clauses which follow file-name-1 may appear in any order.
  2. MF If the VALUE OF FILE-ID clause is specified, literal-1 must be a nonnumeric literal and cannot be a figurative constant.

Syntax Rules for Formats 1, 2 and 3 (RecordSequential, MF Line Sequential, Relative and Indexed Files)

  1. The level indicator FD identifies the beginning of a file description and must precede the file-name.
  2. One or more record description entries must follow the file description entry.
  3. MF The EXTERNAL clause and the THREAD-LOCAL clause must not be specified in the same file description entry.

Syntax Rules for Format 4 (Sort-Merge Files)

  1. The level indicator SD identifies the beginning of the sort-merge file description and must precede the file-name.
  2. The clauses which follow the name of the file are optional and may appear in any order.
  3. One or more record description entries must follow the sort-merge file description entry. However, no input-output statements can be executed for this file.

General Rules for Format 1 (Record Sequential Files)

  1. If the file description entry for a sequential file contains the LINAGE clause and the EXTERNAL clause, the LINAGE-COUNTER data item is an external data item. If the file description entry for a sequential file contains the LINAGE clause and the GLOBAL clause, the special register LINAGE-COUNTER is a global name.