The INVALID KEY Condition

The INVALID KEY condition can occur as a result of the execution of a START, READ, WRITE, REWRITE or DELETE statement. For details of the causes of the condition, see the topics The READ Statement and The REWRITE Statement and the sections The START Statement and The WRITE Statement.

If the INVALID KEY condition exists after the execution of the input-output operation specified in an input-output statement, the following actions occur in the order shown:

1. A value is placed in the FILE STATUS data item, if specified for this file, to indicate an INVALID KEY condition. (See the section earlier in this chapter.)
2. If the INVALID KEY phrase is specified in the statement causing the condition, control is passed to the INVALID KEY imperative statement. Any USE procedure specified for this file is not executed.
3. If the INVALID KEY phrase is not specified, but a USE procedure is specified, either explicitly or implicitly, for this file, that procedure is executed.

When the INVALID KEY condition occurs, execution of the input-output statement which recognized the condition is unsuccessful, and the file is not affected.

Note that INVALID KEY does not trap errors when status key 1 is set to "9". Such errors must be trapped either by explicitly testing the status key or by using declaratives instead of the INVALID KEY clause.