"Jeff Kell" <[log in to unmask]> wrote in message
news:3debe663$1@skycache-news.fidnet.com...
> Tracy Pierce wrote:
> >
> > from the Cobol manual page 6-26: use the Cobol DELETE verb to clobber
> > records in an RIO file.  exactly what sort of FWRITE intrinsic call this
> > generates is unclear, but do you really care?
>
> IIRC, you 'delete' a record by setting the first byte (bytes?) to the
> COBOL 'HIGH-VALUES' (all bits set to one).
>
> Jeff
>
As I recall, the first 2 bytes are COBOL 'HIGH-VALUES' or PIC S9(4) COMP
VALUE -1. I came across this some years ago when the data in the first 2
bytes of a record could be -1 and I found I couldn't read these records.
That one took a bit of finding...

Mark

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