Specify the field length for each field (unless you copy the field's
attributes from a referenced field). Specify the number of digits for a
numeric field, or the number of characters for a character field. The
length specification must be right-justified; leading zeros are
optional. Valid length specifications for ICF files are as
follows:
Data Type | Valid Length |
---|---|
Character | 1 through 32 767 |
Binary | 1 through 9 |
Zoned decimal | 1 through 31 |
Packed decimal | 1 through 31 |
Floating-point single precision | 1 through 9 |
Floating-point double precision | 1 through 17 |
You can specify a maximum of 9 digits for single precision and 17 digits for double precision. However, the OS/400 program supports a floating-point accuracy of 7 digits for single precision and 15 digits for double precision.
The sum of the number of bytes occupied by all fields in a record must not
exceed 32 767 for ICF files. The system determines the number of
bytes actually occupied as follows:
Data Type | Bytes Occupied in Storage |
---|---|
Character | Number of characters |
Binary |
|
1-4 digits | 2 bytes |
5-9 digits | 4 bytes |
Zoned decimal | Number of digits |
Packed decimal | (Number of digits/2) + 1 (truncated if fractional) |
Floating-point (single precision) | 4 bytes |
Floating-point (double precision) | 8 bytes |
If you are using a referenced field, you can override the length of the field by specifying a new value or by specifying the increase or decrease in length. To increase the length, specify +n where n is the increase. To decrease the length, specify -n, where n is the decrease. For example, an entry of +4 for a numeric field indicates that it is to be 4 digits longer than the referenced field.
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