You could use SAS, which will read any record for you and present the logical record independent of the RECFM for F/V/VB/VBS, and for VSAM, although some VSAM files contain the record length in their first four bytes, notably SMF VSAM, but VSAM is detectable in byte 100 of the JFCB, so even that record can easily be handled handled.
Barry -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John McKown Sent: Monday, September 09, 2013 11:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: SORT? need. I haven't yet looked in the DFSORT manual, bad me, but I'll ask anyway. Programmer has a "problem". He is writing a COBOL program. No, that's not the problem <grin/>. He wants the input to be an OPTIONAL file which might be VB in one run an FB in a different run. This file is "user" generated. I told him to tell the user to put in the SITE command necessary to make the uploaded file be VB. He basically said that he didn't think he could _force_ them to do that. The conversation degenerated after that. Anyway, DFSORT has a FTOV function. But I need an "any"TOV type function. That is, it will read FB or VB and output VB. If this were me, I'd use REXX because I've been told these will be "small" files. But the programmer doesn't know REXX. And I'm not go write it for him because our programmers don't know REXX and so won't be able to support it. And I'd end up being support-for-eternity for this. It's happened before with some HLASM code which is now "mine". -- As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. Maranatha! <>< John McKown ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
