When net change utility compares records it adds a one-character instruction (action flag) to the first position of each record in the difference (.diff) output file.
As part of processing, net change utility automatically adds the following data to each record:
Added Data | Definition |
Action Flag | One character, at the beginning of the record |
AddDate | Date the record is added, at the end of the record |
ModDate | Date the record is modified, at the end of the record |
SeenDate | Date the record is last seen, at the end of the record |
NCEID | Sequential unique 34-character ID for every record in the database, at the end of the record |
Action Flag | Description | Determining Factor | Action |
A | Add | The key/criteria do not exist in the Base File. | Record marked and moved to the Difference File. |
C | Change | The key is the same but the criteria are different. | Record marked and moved to the Difference File. |
D | Delete | The key does not exist in the new incoming file. | Record marked and moved to the Difference File
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S | Seen | A record is marked "seen" if the key and the criteria for the incoming record are the same as a previous record in the incoming file. Seen records are ignored. | Record marked "seen" and moved to the Difference File
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