Say that a new application requires you to add fieldsto a file's records. You add them at the end. Why should you have to recompile all of the programs which don't use those fields? Let the access method ignore the rest of the record when used for input. Thus, only programs which use the new fields and those that write to the file would need updating.
Sorry, but this simply seems quaint. What happens when a field increases in size, not at the end? Why should we have separate implementations for applications programs, but system utilities can't utilize this function? The later point being that an incorrect LRECL specification on an IEBGENER or SORT could be disastrous.
If the intent is to provide a character-based file management structure like PCs then that is certainly possible, with all the attendant overhead of doing so. A record-based management scheme requires that the application take some responsibility for designating what constitutes a record. Instead of making the access method responsible for truncating data arbitrarily based on LRECL, how about we consider designing applications with some growth built into them with reserved fields? The only reason programs need to be re-compiled when fields are added is because the original applications people never planned for any changes, and personally I don't think such poor practices become the fault of the operating system to correct.
Adam ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
