Parts of an Edit Word for Display Files

An edit word consists of three parts: the body, the status, and the expansion. Figure 158 shows the three parts of an edit word.

Figure 158. Three Parts of an Edit Word

Three parts of an Edit Word

The body is the space for the digits transferred from the data field to the output record. The body begins at the farthest left position of the edit word. The number of blanks (plus one for a zero or an asterisk) it contains is equal to the number of digits of the data field to be edited. If the zero or asterisk is the first character in the edit word, the number of blanks it contains may equal the number of digits in the data field. The body ends with the farthest right character that can be replaced by a digit.

The status positions display the sign (+ or -) of the data field. The status continues to the right of the body to either a CR (credit) or - (minus) symbol. These two symbols print only when the field is negative. Edit words without the CR or - symbol have no status positions.

The expansion positions are not changed by the edit operation. The expansion starts at the first position to the right of the status (or body, if status is not specified) and ends with the farthest right character of the edit word.