Rational Developer for System z
PL/I for Windows, Version 8.0, Programming Guide

Using data sets and files

Types of data sets
Native data sets
Conventional text files and devices
Fixed-length data sets
Additional data sets
Varying-length data sets
Regional data sets
Workstation VSAM data sets
Establishing data set characteristics
Records
Record formats
Data set organizations
Specifying characteristics using the PL/I ENVIRONMENT attribute
CONSECUTIVE
CTLASA
GENKEY
GRAPHIC
KEYLENGTH
KEYLOC
ORGANIZATION
RECSIZE
REGIONAL(1)
SCALARVARYING
VSAM
Specifying characteristics using DD:ddname environment variables
AMTHD
APPEND
ASA
AUTOPAGE
BUFSIZE
CHARSET for record I/O
CHARSET for stream I/O
DELAY
DELIMIT
LRECL
LRMSKIP
PROMPT
PUTPAGE
RECCOUNT
RECSIZE
RETRY
SAMELINE
SHARE
SKIP0
TERMLBUF
TYPE
Associating a PL/I file with a data set
Using environment variables
Using the TITLE option of the OPEN statement
Attempting to use files not associated with data sets
How PL/I finds data sets
Opening and closing PL/I files
Opening a file
Closing a file
Associating several data sets with one file
Combinations of I/O statements, attributes, and options
DISPLAY statement input and output
PL/I standard files (SYSPRINT and SYSIN)
Redirecting standard input, output, and error devices

Your PL/I programs can process and transmit units of information called records. A collection of records is called a data set, but for PL/I workstation products, a data set can be either a file or a device. Data sets are logical collections of information external to PL/I programs; they can be created, accessed, or modified by programs written in PL/I.

Your PL/I program recognizes and processes information in a data set by associating it with a symbolic representation of the data set called a PL/I file. This PL/I file represents the environment independent characteristics of a set of input and output operations.

In order to minimize confusion, this book uses the term PL/I file to refer to the file declared and used in a PL/I program. The terms data set and workstation file (or workstation device) are used to refer to the collection of data on an external I/O device. In some cases the data sets have no name; they are known to the system by the device on which they exist.

Rational Developer for System z
PL/I for Windows, Version 8.0, Programming Guide