PCFORMAT User's Guide

Database Restrictions
COPY Command
066374 Tandem Computers Incorporated 3–7
Use the PURGE option whenever you want to replace the contents of an
existing file.
Figure 2-2 shows the DDL source statement for a record with headings
defined for each field. If the NOHEADING option is not used, the headings
shown will be written as the first line in <output file> when the record is
named in <record name> of a COPY command. The following command
suppresses the headings from the CYCPARTS record (Figure 2-2):
:PCFORMAT COPY (FORMAT SYLK, NOHEADING) CYCPARTS
AS \SYS.$VOL.SUBVOL.PARTLIST
The data in the file designated in the CYCPARTS record is converted to
SYLK format and named PARTLIST on \SYS.$VOL.SUBVOL.
Database Restrictions PCFORMAT supports all but a few features of DDL. The following are not
supported:
RENAMES, REDEFINES, and DISPLAY syntax elements
Complex numbers (TYPE COMPLEX data type)
OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause
Variable-length records
The RENAMES, REDEFINES, an DISPLAY syntax elements are simply
ignored when they are encountered by PCFORMAT in the specified record
definition. When the other items in the list above are detected, PCFORMAT
produces an error message.
Besides this list of restrictions, the occurrence of quotation marks (“) in a
database file may cause problems in the BASIC, DIF, and SYLK formats
produced by PCFORMAT. PCFORMAT inserts quotation marks in these
three formats to enclose various types of character strings. Depending on
the 654X application making use of these formats, quotation marks in the
data may be confused with the quotation marks added by PCFORMAT. A
warning message results when quotation marks are found in the data file.