FastSort Manual

FastSort Manual—429834-003
Glossary-1
Glossary
alternate collating sequence. An EDIT file instructs FastSort to collate sort results by
specific alphanumeric key fields or string type data. The default FastSort collating
sequence is the ASCII character set.
application . One or more processes that achieve a specific objective. Processes in an
application often communicate with each other using the message system and file
system. See also program and process.
command file. An EDIT file containing a sequence of commands to execute. When you
execute the file, commands in the file are automatically executed. You can use a
command file with FastSort to execute commands or set DEFINEs.
data stack space. A storage area for object files. Data stack space is automatically
allocated and can be manually specified for a program either at compile or bind time.
file system. A set of operating procedures and data structures that allows communication
between a process and a file, which can be a disk file, I/O device, or another process.
initial scratch file. The scratch file FastSort uses first to store partial information during a
sort-merge operation. See also scratch file and overflow scratch file.
input file. A set of records from local or remote disk files, tape files, or a terminal that you
specify to FastSort to sort or merge. Supported types of output files for FastSort are
unstructured, relative, entry-sequenced, key-sequenced, and EDIT.
list file. The file FastSort creates after a sort or merge run that describes the run. For
example, a list file can contain FastSort statistics and any errors or warnings that
occurred during the run. By default, the list file is the home terminal for the FastSort
process; it can also be a disk file, I/O device, SPOOL DEFINE, or a process that
receives sort-merge output. See also SPOOL DEFINE
.
output file. The file to which FastSort writes output records. By default, the output file is the
home terminal for the FastSort process. Supported output file types for FastSort are
unstructured, relative, entry-sequenced, and key-sequenced.
overflow scratch file. I f the initial scratch file becomes full during a sort-merge operation,
the file FastSort creates to store overflow information. If there is sufficient overflow
space, FastSort creates overflow scratch files on the same volume as the initial scratch
file. See also scratch file and initial scratch file.
parallel sort-merge operation. A FastSort operation that improves performance by using
one distributor-collector SORTPROG process and 2 to 8 subsort processes to
distribute the sort workload to multiple processors.
process. An executing or running program that has been submitted to the operating system
for execution.