The RECORD DELIMITER Clause (RM/COBOL)

General Format

General Rules

1. The RECORD DELIMITER clause may only be specified in a file control entry that describes a sequential organization file.
2. The specified record delimiting technique is applied to the file when running under DIALECT"RM", and only when the RECORD DELIMITER clause does not conflict with the ORGANIZATION clause. When the two clauses have incompatible options set, the RECORD DELIMITER clause is ignored.
3. The two clauses are compatible when:
   • RECORD DELIMITER is set to LINE-SEQUENTIAL, and the ORGANIZATION clause:
     • Omits the record delimiting technique (that is, specifies ORGANIZATION SEQUENTIAL).
     • Specifies ORGANIZATION LINE SEQUENTIAL.
     • Is omitted entirely (no ORGANIZATION clause, which implies SEQUENTIAL organization).
   • RECORD DELIMITER is set to BINARY-SEQUENTIAL, and the ORGANIZATION clause:
     • Omits the record delimiting technique (that is, specifies ORGANIZATION SEQUENTIAL).
     • Specifies ORGANIZATION BINARY SEQUENTIAL.
     • Specifies ORGANIZATION RECORD SEQUENTIAL.
     • Is omitted entirely (no ORGANIZATION clause, which implies SEQUENTIAL organization).
4. Other implementor-names are accepted for the record delimiting technique as before in Visual COBOL and are ignored, even when DIALECT"RM" is in effect. (This means that if LINE-SEQUENTIAL or BINARY-SEQUENTIAL are misspelled, they will still be ignored.)