RE: Reading last record

[Ken Sims <mr2087@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Don

>Oops, just noticed the following statement regarding *END (and *START):
>"Both positionings are independent of the collating sequence used for keyed
>files."
>
>This implies that the record you get would be the one with the highest
>relative record number and not necessarily the highest key value.

Nope.  What that means is that the positioning is independent of whether
the first key field is ascending or descending.

*hival   setgt
          readp

will get the last record if the first key field is ascending but will NOT
get any record if the first key field is descending.  This is because
*hival setgt with a descending key is the equivalent of *loval setll with
an ascending key; it puts you at the beginning of the file, not the end.

*end     setll
          readp

will get the last record regardless of whether the first key field is
ascending or descending because *end setll always puts you at the end of
the file.

Ken
Opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of
my employer or anyone in their right mind.