VMS Help MERGE, Input File Qualifier, /FORMAT  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    Defines input file characteristics; allows you to specify or
    override record or file size.

    You can also use /FORMAT as an output file qualifier; enter HELP
    SORT OUTPUT_FILE_QUALIFIERS/FORMAT at the DCL prompt for more
    information.

    Format

      input-file-spec/FORMAT=(type:n,[...])

1 - Qualifier Values

 RECORD_SIZE:n

    Specifies the input file's longest record length (LRL) in bytes.

    The maximum longest record length that can be specified depends
    on the file organization:

    Sequential files          32,767
    Relative files            16,383
    Indexed-sequential files  16,362

    These totals include control bytes for variable records with
    fixed-length control (VFC) format.

 FILE_SIZE:n

    Specifies input file size in blocks. The maximum file size
    accepted is 4,294,967,295 blocks.

2 - Full Description

    Sort obtains the file's longest record length (LRL) and file size
    from RMS. If you know the LRL that RMS has defined for the input
    files is incorrect, you can override this value by specifying the
    record size with RECORD_SIZE. For multiple input files, LRL is
    the length of the longest record in all files.

    If you do not know the LRL value for a file, use the ANALYZE/RMS_
    FILE command. The LRL value appears in the file attributes
    section in the statistical report generated for the file that
    you specify.

    Sort uses input file size information to determine the amount
    of memory needed, as well as the size of the work files for the
    sort operation. If the file size is unknown (for example, you
    are sorting files not residing on disk or standard ANSI magnetic
    tape), Sort assumes a fairly large file size.

    If this default is too large, Sort overestimates its memory and
    work file requirements; the sort operation will be more efficient
    if you specify a smaller input file size. If the default is too
    small, Sort underestimates its memory requirements; therefore,
    you should specify a larger input file size, provided the Sort
    data structure size is not limited by the working set extent.

3 - Examples

    1.$ SORT/KEY=(POS:40,SIZ:2,DESC) -
      _$CRA0:YRENDAVG.DAT/FORMAT=(RECORD_SIZE:41,FILE_SIZE:3) -
      _$DESCYRAVG.LIS

      Because the input file YRENDAVG.DAT does not reside on a
      disk device or ANSI magnetic tape, file organization must be
      described by the /FORMAT qualifier.

    2.$ SORT/KEY=(POS:1,SI:80) STATS.DAT SUMMARY.LIS/FORMAT=FIXED:80

      The input file STATS.DAT consists of variable-length records
      that are 80 bytes in length. The /FORMAT qualifier specifies
      that the output file SUMMARY.LIS consists of fixed-length
      records.