RE: External data structures

Is this what you were looking for?

 FD  SY00200-File                                             
     Label Records are Standard.                              
 01  SY00200-File-Record.                                     
     Copy DDS-All-Formats of SY00200.                         
       05  SY00200-RECORD PIC X(83).                          
*    I-O FORMAT:SY00200R   FROM FILE SY00200    OF LIBRARY AAR
*                                                             
*THE KEY DEFINITIONS FOR RECORD FORMAT  SY00200R              
*  NUMBER               NAME               RETRIEVAL     TYPE 
*   0001   MSGNR                            ASCENDING      AN 
       05  SY00200R      REDEFINES SY00200-RECORD.            
           06 MSGNR                 PIC X(4).                 
*                  Message code                               
           06 MSGTXT                PIC X(79).                
*                  MSGTXT                                     

This is a snippet from the source listing after compling.  The physical
file was externally defined.  In the source code after the FD I inserted
"Copy DDS-All-Formats of SY00200."  And the complier did the rest.


BZ



-----Original Message-----
From: cobol400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:cobol400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Gibbs
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 2:45 PM
To: cobol400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [COBOL400-L] External data structures

Folks:

Nobody in our office has any cobol experience on the 400 (my cobol
experience is from way back in '83 when I took a few classes).

A co-worker was wondering if anyone would be able give a simple source
example of an external data structure definition in OPM COBOL and ILE
COBOL ... if the concept even exists.

Thanks!

david