REFORMAT Command

The REFORMAT command restructures file items and sends output to another file, or backup medium. The output can also be directed back to the original file specified in the INFO/ACCESS query.

Format

Parameter(s)

Description

The contents of any attribute in the original file can be made the item-IDs for the items in the restructured destination file. This is useful for creating a new file that consists of a subset of the attributes in an existing file. The values that are to be made into item-IDs must be unique, however. A null or any other set of identical values will become the item-ID of one item, and the data in those items will be stored as MultiValues in the item in the destination file.

After the REFORMAT command is entered with accompanying parameters, the system displays the following prompt:

At this point, you can perform one of three different operations:

1. Transfer items to backup media. You must have already attached the tape unit, or floppy disk, and set the record length with T-ATT.

   • Type TAPE at the prompt. Each item is written to backup medium as a separate physical record (or block). If an item is larger than the block size, the next record is used.

2. Transfer items to another file.

   • Type the name of an existing file as follows:

   [DICT] filename

   The system copies the selected or specified items to the destination file name.

   If you specify attributes for output and include the ID-SUPP modifier in the INFO/ACCESS query, the values in the first attribute of the output specification become the item-IDs for the items copied to the destination file. The second attribute listed in the output specification becomes Attribute 1 in the destination file, the third attribute becomes Attribute 2, etc. The destination file can thus consist of a subset of the attributes defined for the original file.

   If you restructure files in this way and you want to generate reports from the destination file, you could copy the Attribute Definition items from the dictionary of the original file to the dictionary of the destination file and then edit the attribute numbers to reflect the new item structure.

   • Transfer items within the same file.

   • Press ENTER without entering a response.

CAUTION

Use the REFORMAT command with care! Most INFO/ACCESS commands generate reports without altering the actual data stored in a database. REFORMAT, however, is an exception, since it can create new file items and alter existing file items.

Restructuring File Items

The following example builds a new file, PHONE-LIST, to contain a subset of the information in the CUSTOMERS file. The customer’s telephone numbers, which are stored in Attribute 6 of CUSTOMERS, become the item-IDs of the items in PHONE-LIST, and the first name and last name are the first and second attributes of each PHONE-LIST item.

Since FIRST-NAME and LAST-NAME are Attributes 1 and 2 (respectively) in both the old and the new files, there is no need to edit the Attribute Definition items of the PHONE-LIST dictionary.

Creating a Cross-Reference File

The following example shows how to use REFORMAT to create a cross-index to a CUSTOMERS file. The original CUSTOMERS file uses a special unique code for its customer IDs. By reformatting the data in CUSTOMERS, you can build a new file, CUSTNAMES, that uses the customer’s last names as item-IDs.

Next, the Attribute Definition items in the dictionary of CUSTNAMES are edited in order to change the attribute numbers. FIRST-NAME is made Attribute 1 and CUST-ID is made Attribute 2. Now it is possible to generate reports from the CUSTNAMES file:

Notice that the two Johnsons are now stored as one MultiValued item under the single item-ID JOHNSON.