Appendix C. Integrated Exchange Format (IXF)

When you use the EXPORT command to export a DATA or TABLE object using the DATAFORMAT=IXF option, the file, data set, or CICS data queue is exported in the Integrated Exchange Format (IXF). QMF supports a subset of IXF, which is described in this section. See Data Extract: Reference for a description of the complete Integration Exchange Format.

The IXF format is especially useful if you want to create tables outside the QMF environment and import them. To do this, set OUTPUTMODE to CHARACTER.

In QMF an exported IXF file, data set, or CICS data queue consists of the following records:

• Header record (H)
• Table record (T)
• Column record (C)
• Data record (D)

The exported file, data set, or CICS data queue consists of one H record, followed by one T record. The T record contains a count of how many C records follow the T record. There is a C record for each column in the table. D records follow C records. There is a D record for each row in the table. The arrangement of records in an exported file, data set, or CICS data queue looks like Figure 70.

Figure 70. Arrangement of records in an exported data file, data set, or CICS data queue (IXF format)

The following sections describe the format of each of these records. The values shown in parentheses are the values QMF supplies when data is exported.