DELETE command: Field

Summary

Privileges

File manager

Function

Deletes a field from a Model 204 file

Syntax

DELETE FIELD fieldname

Where: fieldname is the name of a field in the currently open Model 204 file.

Example

DELETE FIELD EMPID

Usage notes

When a field is deleted, Model 204 removes the definition of the field and all occurrences of data for that field.

Depending on the size of the file and the field type, a DELETE FIELD command might take a long time to complete.

You cannot delete record security fields, sort, or hash key fields. If the specified field is in a Model 204 file with record security, the file manager must have record security override privileges.

When it processes DELETE FIELD, Model 204 ends any update unit in progress and begins a non-backoutable update unit. For more information about Model 204 update units, see the Model 204 File Manager's Guide.

Handling the date/time stamp field in a file

The DELETE FIELD command is prohibited for the DTSFN field in a file when the FOPT=X'10' is set. Attempting to do so results in the following message:

M204.2727: CAN'T DELETE DTS FIELD WHEN FOPT=X'10' IS ON

Large Object data support

The DELETE FIELD command supports the Large Object data type, so you can delete a Large Object field. However, the space in Table B and Table E is not automatically available for reuse.

CHUNK fields

Deleting OI chunk and OI chunk target fields is not allowed.