A data file contains actual data.
Records in data files are grouped into members. All the records in a file can be in one member, or they can be grouped into different members. Most database commands and operations by default assume that database files which contain data have only one member. This means that when your ILE C/C++ program works with database files containing data you do not need to specify the member name for the file unless your file contains more than one member.
Usually, database files that contain source programs are made up of more than one member. Organizing source programs into members within database files allows you to better manage your programs. These source members contain source statements that the iSeries system uses to create iSeries objects. For example, a source member which contains C++ statements is used to create a program object.
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