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




Syntax Rules
- The clauses which follow file-name-1 may appear in any order.
If the VALUE OF FILE-ID clause is
specified, literal-1 must be a nonnumeric literal and cannot be a figurative
constant.
- The level indicator FD identifies the beginning of a file
description and must precede the file-name.
- One or more record description entries must follow the file
description entry.
The EXTERNAL clause and the
THREAD-LOCAL clause must not be specified in the same file description
entry.
- The level indicator SD identifies the beginning of the sort-merge
file description and must precede the file-name.
- The clauses which follow the name of the file are optional and
may appear in any order.
- 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
- 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.