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<h1 class="topictitle1">Stream file</h1>
<div><p>A <dfn class="term">stream file</dfn> is a randomly
accessible sequence of bytes, with no further structure imposed by the system.</p>
<p>The integrated file system provides support for storing and operating on
information in the form of stream files. Documents that are stored in your
server's folders are stream files. Other examples of stream files are PC files
and the files in UNIX<sup>®</sup> systems. An integrated file system stream file
is a system object that has an object type of *STMF.</p>
<p>To better understand stream files, it is useful to compare them with iSeries™ database
files. A database file is record-oriented; it has predefined subdivisions
that consist of one or more fields that have specific characteristics, such
as length and data type.</p>
<div class="fignone"><span class="figcap">Figure 1. Comparison of a stream file and a record-oriented file</span><br /><img src="rv3n081.gif" alt="Comparison of a stream file and record-oriented file" /><br /></div>
<p>Stream files and record-oriented files are structured differently, and
this difference in structure affects how the files are used. The structure
affects how an application is written to interact with the files and where
each type of file is best used in an application. A record-oriented file,
for example, is well suited for storing customer statistics such as name,
address, and account balance. A record-oriented file allows these predefined
fields to be individually accessed and manipulated, using the extensive programming
facilities of your server. But a stream file is better suited for storing
information such as a customer's picture, which is composed of a continuous
string of bits representing variations in color. Stream files are particularly
well suited for storing strings of data such as the text of a document, images,
audio, and video.</p>
<div class="p">A file has one of two format options: *TYPE1 stream file or *TYPE2 stream
file. The file format depends on the release the file was created on, or if
a file was created in a user-defined file system, the value that was specified
for that file system.<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The concept of *TYPE1
and *TYPE2 stream files is different from the concept of *TYPE1 and *TYPE2
directory formats. One does not relate to the other.</div>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">*TYPE1 stream files</h4><p>A *TYPE1
stream file has the same format as stream files created on releases before OS/400<sup>®</sup> V4R4.</p>
<p><img src="./delta.gif" alt="Start of change" />*TYPE1 stream file has a minimum size of 4096 bytes.
*TYPE1 stream files have a maximum object size of approximately 128 GB (1
GB equals approximately 1 073 741 824 bytes).<img src="./deltaend.gif" alt="End of change" /></p>
</div>
<div class="section"><h4 class="sectiontitle">*TYPE2 stream files</h4><p>A *TYPE2 stream file has high-performance
file access.</p>
<p>*TYPE2 stream files have a maximum
object size of approximately 1 TB (1 TB equals approximately 1 099 511 627
776 bytes) in the "root" (/), QOpenSys and user-defined file systems. Otherwise,
the maximum is approximately 256 GB. It is also capable of memory mapping,
as well as the ability to specify an attribute to optimize main storage allocation.
All files created with OS/400 V4R4 and newer systems are *TYPE2 stream files,
unless they were created in a user-defined file system that specified a file
format of *TYPE1.</p>
<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Any files larger than 256
GB cannot be saved or restored to systems before <span class="keyword">i5/OS™</span> V5R3.</div>
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<div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent topic:</strong> <a href="rzaaxbasics.htm" title="This topic introduces the basic concepts of integrated file system, such as directory, link, path name, stream file, name continuity, extended attributes, and scanning support.">Integrated file system concepts</a></div>
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<div class="relref"><strong>Related reference</strong><br />
<div><a href="rzaaxudfsfs.htm" title="The user-defined file systems (UDFSs) reside on the auxiliary storage pool (ASP) or independent auxiliary storage pool (ASP) of your choice. You create and manage these file systems.">User-defined file systems (UDFSs)</a></div>
<div><a href="rzaaxstmpgm.htm" title="If you are familiar with operating on database files using record-oriented facilities such as data description specifications (DDS), you may find some fundamental differences in the way you operate on stream files.">Copy data between stream files and database files</a></div>
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