The RECORDING MODE clause specifies the format of the logical
records in the file.
General Formats
Format 1 (Record Sequential Files)
Format 2
(Line Sequential Files)
Format 3
(Relative and Indexed Files)
Syntax Rules
F and FIXED are synonyms.
V and VARIABLE are synonyms.
General Rules
All Formats (All Files)
Specifying RECORDING MODE IS F causes all the records in the file
to be the same length.
Format 1 (Record Sequential Files)
The "U" option is documentary only.
Formats 1 and 3 (Record Sequential,Relative and Indexed
Files)
When RECORDING MODE IS V is specified, the records in the file
can be either fixed or variable in length. Each data record includes a record
length field. These fields are not part of the record description.
Format 2
(Line SequentialFiles)
Line sequential files are neither
truly fixed nor truly variable format files: the presence or absence of any
RECORDING MODE, RECORD CONTAINS or RECORD VARYING IN SIZE clause does not,
therefore, impact their performance.