<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="security" content="public" /> <meta name="Robots" content="index,follow" /> <meta http-equiv="PICS-Label" content='(PICS-1.1 "http://www.icra.org/ratingsv02.html" l gen true r (cz 1 lz 1 nz 1 oz 1 vz 1) "http://www.rsac.org/ratingsv01.html" l gen true r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 0) "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" l gen true r (SS~~000 1))' /> <meta name="DC.Type" content="concept" /> <meta name="DC.Title" content="Database files" /> <meta name="abstract" content="A database file is one of the several types of the system object type *FILE. A database file contains descriptions of how input data is to be presented to a program from internal storage and how output data is to be presented to internal storage from a program." /> <meta name="description" content="A database file is one of the several types of the system object type *FILE. A database file contains descriptions of how input data is to be presented to a program from internal storage and how output data is to be presented to internal storage from a program." /> <meta name="DC.Relation" scheme="URI" content="rbafodbfcon.htm" /> <meta name="DC.Relation" scheme="URI" content="rbafosrcc.htm" /> <meta name="copyright" content="(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 1998, 2006" /> <meta name="DC.Rights.Owner" content="(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 1998, 2006" /> <meta name="DC.Format" content="XHTML" /> <meta name="DC.Identifier" content="rbafodbf" /> <meta name="DC.Language" content="en-us" /> <!-- All rights reserved. Licensed Materials Property of IBM --> <!-- US Government Users Restricted Rights --> <!-- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by --> <!-- GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp. --> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./ibmdita.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./ic.css" /> <title>Database files</title> </head> <body id="rbafodbf"><a name="rbafodbf"><!-- --></a> <!-- Java sync-link --><script language="Javascript" src="../rzahg/synch.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <h1 class="topictitle1">Database files</h1> <div><p>A database file is one of the several types of the system object type *FILE. A database file contains descriptions of how input data is to be presented to a program from internal storage and how output data is to be presented to internal storage from a program.</p> <p>Database files contain members and records.</p> <div class="section" id="rbafodbf__rbafosf"><a name="rbafodbf__rbafosf"><!-- --></a><h4 class="sectiontitle">Source file</h4><p>A source file contains uncompiled programming code and input data needed to create some types of objects. It can contain source statements for such items as high-level language programs and data description specifications (DDS). A source file can be a source physical file, diskette file, tape file, or inline data file.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="rbafodbf__rbafopf"><a name="rbafodbf__rbafopf"><!-- --></a><h4 class="sectiontitle">Physical file</h4><p>A physical file is a database file that stores application data. It contains a description of how data is to be presented to or received from a program and how data is actually stored in the database.</p> <p>A physical file consists of fixed-length records that can have variable-length fields. It contains one record format and one or more members. From the perspective of the SQL interface, physical files are identical to tables.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="rbafodbf__rbafolf"><a name="rbafodbf__rbafolf"><!-- --></a><h4 class="sectiontitle">Logical file</h4><p>A logical file is a database file that logically represents one or more physical files. It contains a description of how data is to be presented to or received from a program. This type of database file contains no data, but it defines record formats for one or more physical files.</p> <p>Logical files let users access data in a sequence and format that is different from the physical files they represent. From the perspective of the SQL interface, logical files are identical to views and indexes.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="rbafodbf__rbafombr"><a name="rbafodbf__rbafombr"><!-- --></a><h4 class="sectiontitle">Member</h4><p>Members are different sets of data, each with the same format, within one database file. Before you perform any input or output operations on a file, the file must have at least one member.</p> <p>As a general rule, a database file has only one member, the one created when the file is created. If a file contains more than one member, each member serves as a subset of the data in the file. </p> </div> <div class="section" id="rbafodbf__rbaforcd"><a name="rbafodbf__rbaforcd"><!-- --></a><h4 class="sectiontitle">Record</h4><p>A record is a group of related data within a file. From the perspective of the SQL interface, records are identical to rows.</p> </div> </div> <div> <div class="familylinks"> <div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent topic:</strong> <a href="rbafodbfcon.htm" title="These topics provide some of the basic database concepts for setting up or working with IBM i5/OS database files.">Database file concepts</a></div> </div> <div class="relconcepts"><strong>Related concepts</strong><br /> <div><a href="rbafosrcc.htm" title="A source file is used when a command alone cannot supply sufficient information for creating an object.">Why source files are used</a></div> </div> </div> </body> </html>