The following run-time switches affect file handling:
- L2 - Record Terminator Switch
- The record terminator switch specifies the character to be used as a record terminator in line sequential files. When -L2 (the default) is used, x"0A" is treated as the record terminator. When +L2 is used, x"0D0A" is treated as the record terminator.
Use of the +L2 switch is in many respects unnecessary for the majority of applications. The File Handler is able to recognize line sequential delimiters for data files, irrespective of the platform on which the files are processed. Using this method to change the delimiters will not result in the user record area ever containing x'0D' characters (unless escaped using the
INSERTNULL option) because these are discarded as noise characters by the File Handler. This is in contrast to OCDS behavior.
- N - Null Switch
- When +N is used (which is the default), all characters less than x"1B" are preceded by a null byte (x"00"). If -N is used, characters less that x"1B" are treated as control characters; for example, x"1A" is treated as the end-of-file marker. If a file is created from an application running with -N, the file must be read back with an application running the same way; the same is true for files created from applications running with +N.
- T - Tab Switch
- The tab switch is set off (-T) by default. The tab switch compresses extra spaces to tab characters (x"09"), for line sequential files. This saves space in the file. If you write a file with +T set, you must use +T when reading the file and if you write a file with -T set, you must use -T when reading the file.
