At one time there was a definite problem with tape if the LRECL was less than
18 bytes, as the data was treated as noise errors.
The limitation was on blocksize, not LRECL.
I thought that noise records no longer applied to cartridge tapes, but
the IBM "Using Data Sets" manual still has this text
"Minimum block size: If you specify a block size other than zero, there is
no minimum requirement for block size except that format-V blocks have a
minimum block size of 8. However, if a data check occurs on a magnetic
tape device, any block shorter than 12 bytes in a read operation, or 18
bytes in a write operation, is treated as a noise record and lost. No
check for noise is made unless a data check occurs. "
Data checks are much rarer on cartridge drives, so this rule may rarely
apply, if it really does apply to cartridges.
--
Bruce A. Black
Senior Software Developer for FDR
Innovation Data Processing 973-890-7300
personal: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
sales info: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
tech support: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: www.innovationdp.fdr.com
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