Individual Data Set Options

Individual data set options for RECORDS PER ... and BYTES PER RECORD apply only when each data set is written to its own file (that is, you are not using a consolidated output file). The individual data set options override the settings for the following:

  • DEFAULT MODIFIES
  • DEFAULT RECORDS PER BLOCK
  • DEFAULT RECORDS PER AREA

Individual data set options are listed in the Span parameter file in the following format:

% Dataset "datasetname"

% Records per Area nnnn

% Records per Block nnn

% Bytes per Record ?

% After Images Only

% Before and After Images

0004 000 0000 0000000000 0000000 00000 00000000000000 0 00000 00000

Overriding DEFAULT MODIFIES

Once you set an option for DEFAULT MODIFIES, you can override it for individual data sets by removing the comment character (%) in front of your selection.

The following example is from the BANKDB database.

% Dataset "BANKDB"

% Records per Area 1000

% Records per Block 100

% Bytes per Record ?

% After Images Only

Before and After Images

0001 000 0000 0000000000 0000000 00000 00000000000000 0 00000 00000

Records Per Area

RECORDS PER AREA nnnn

Default value: 1000 records per area.

This option determines the size of each area (in records) that will be written to the Span output files.

Records Per Block

RECORDS PER BLOCK nnn

Default value: 100 records per block.

This option determines the size of each block (in records) that will be written to the Span output file.

Bytes Per Record

BYTES PER RECORD

There is no default value for BYTES PER RECORD because the actual value depends on the format routine you select.

This option determines the size of each record (in bytes) that will be written to the Span output files. For Span to calculate the bytes per record automatically, leave the comment character (%) in front of this option.

If you do not specify a BYTES PER RECORD value, the record size is dependent on the format you select. For example, a COMMAFORMATQUOTEALL format will require more space than a FIXEDFORMAT.

If you do decide to set bytes per record, keep the following in mind:

If the bytes per record are set too large, you get all the data, but the drawback is the extra space required.

If the bytes per record are set too small, the data are truncated.

The size limit is the host record size limit.