The RECORDTYPE keyword specifies the format of records in a file: fixed-length records, variable-length records, segmented records, or stream-type variable-length records. It takes the following form:
RECORDTYPE = typ
When you create a file, default record types are as follows:
| File Type | Default Record Type |
|---|---|
| Relative or indexed files | 'FIXED' |
| Direct access sequential files | 'FIXED' |
| Formatted sequential access files | 'VARIABLE' |
| Unformatted sequential access files | 'SEGMENTED' |
A segmented record consists of one or more variable-length records.
Using segmented records allows a Fortran logical record to span
several physical records. Only unformatted sequential access files
with sequential organization can use segmented records. You cannot
specify 'SEGMENTED' for any other file type.
If you do not specify the RECORDTYPE keyword when you are accessing
an existing file, the record type of the file is used-except for
unformatted sequential-access files with sequential organization
and variable-length records. These files have a default of
'SEGMENTED'.
If you do specify the RECORDTYPE keyword when you are accessing an
existing file, the type that you specify must match the type of an
existing file.
In fixed-length record files, if an output statement does not
specify a full record, the record is filled with spaces in a
formatted file and zeros in an unformatted file.
You cannot use an unformatted READ statement to access an
unformatted sequential organization file containing variable-length
records, unless you specify the corresponding RECORDTYPE value in
your OPEN statement.
Files containing segmented records can be accessed only by
unformatted sequential Fortran I/O statements.
For details on record types, see your user manual.