COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs (H06.08+, J06.03+)

specifies pad-char, the character to be used for padding on sequential files on unlabeled
magnetic tape when the physical record size (block size) exceeds the logical record size.
HP COBOL handles this phrase as a comment, except for checking if pad-char is acceptable.
pad-char
is either a nonnumeric literal that represents a single character, or a qualified or unqualified
name that references an alphanumeric data item whose value is a single character. If
pad-char is a data item, it must be defined in the Working-Storage, Extended-Storage,
or Linkage Section. pad-char cannot be a national literal or national data item.
RECORD DELIMITER clause
specifies the method of determining the length of a variable-length record on the file’s external
medium. HP COBOL handles this clause as a comment, except that these requirements are
checked:
• This clause can appear only for a file whose description specifies variable-length records.
• STANDARD-1 applies only to magnetic tape files that contain standard label records.
• rec-delim must be IMPLICIT (see rec-delim, following).
rec-delim
must be IMPLICIT, the only name predefined by HP COBOL for use in this clause. IMPLICIT
signifies that the record delimiter is implied by the size of the records on the magnetic tape.
ACCESS MODE clause
makes the access mode of the file sequential (the default).
ALTERNATE RECORD KEY clause
makes alt-key an alternate record key.
alt-key
is an alphanumeric or unsigned numeric data item declared in the record description entry
of the file and is used to gain access to records within the file. The size and location of
alt-key must agree with the size and location of the alternate key within the file, as
defined when the alternate key file was established by the Guardian environment File Utility
Program (FUP). (For information about FUP, see the File Utility Program (FUP) Reference
Manual.)
Input-Output Section 121