RE: Varying Length fields, and LikeRec

> For this file:
> A          R REC
> A            FLD1          10A
> A            FLD2          10A         VARLEN
> A            FLD3          10A

Just an additional comment on this file.  I believe the original poster said
that they wanted to save space.  In the case of a 10 character field you
certainly won't save anything - but even if FLD2 were 1,000 bytes long, if
the DDS is coded in this way you would _not_ save space.  In order to save
space you must specify the optional length parameter. e.g.

 A            FLD2        1000A         VARLEN(100)

This tells the system to only store 100 bytes worth of data _unless_ the
size of the field exceeds 100 bytes, in which case the excess is stored in a
separate area of the database.  In either case the field is expanded as the
record is retrieved and will always appear as its full length in your
program or DSPPFM or .....

The figure should be your best guess at the norm for the field.  Writing a
program to analyze existing data might be a good idea, as would reviewing
the usage from time to time if want the file to be efficient both in terms
of performance and storage.

Jon Paris
Partner400
www.Partner400.com