SIRFIELD command

Note: This is a Sirius Mods-only command prior to Version 7.5 of Model 204.

The SIRFIELD command allows you to control access to and update of fields in a file. This control is provided in any Model 204 load module (BATCH204, ONLINE, IFAM4, IFAM1, etc.) with the Sir2000 Field Migration Facility.

The SIRFIELD command is used to assign special attributes to a field name; the purpose of these attributes is to provide additional checking of uses of the field, and to ease a migration period for applications using the field. The general form of the SIRFIELD command is:

SIRFIELD command syntax

[IN file] SIRFIELD name subcommand operands

where

IN file

specifies the file to which the SIRFIELD command applies. This is only necessary if file is not the default file. IN file can be specified with any SIRFIELD subcommand but, for readability, is not presented in subsequent syntax diagrams.

name

is alias name or fieldname in the current file (it must already be defined). If it contains blanks or special characters, the entire name must be enclosed in apostrophes, for example, SIRFIELD 'DATE OF BIRTH' ... Note that certain SIRFIELD subcommands accept either a fieldname or an alias, while other subcommands accept only a fieldname or only an alias.

subcommand

Indicates the operation being performed. It is one of the words ALIAS, DELETE, FORMAT, DISPLAY, RELATE, or SET. Meanings of these are described below. The subcommands are described briefly below and in detail in the Sir2000 Field Migration Facility Reference Manual.

operands

The operands specific to the operation. These are described in the Sir2000 Field Migration Facility Reference Manual.

The SIRFIELD command may not be issued against a file that has “CCA” as the first three characters of the file name.

The SIRFIELD subcommands are summarized below and described in detail in the SirFact Reference Manual. You invoke a subcommand with the “SIRFACT” prefix (for example, SIRFACT CANCEL, SIRFACT MAXDUMP).

ALIAS

Provide an additional name that programs can use to refer to a field.

DELETE

Removes an alias name.

DISPLAY

Shows the attributes that SIRFIELD has associated with a field.

FORMAT

Ensures that only values of the specified format(s) are stored in the field, and associates the format, CENTSPAN, and SPANSIZE with the field for use in applications or in the SIRFIELD RELATE subcommand.

RELATE

Causes any update of a field to be reflected by the equivalent update to another field.

SET

Specifies special processing options for a field or alias name.

This command will perform no useful processing unless a site is authorized for the Sir2000 Field Migration Facility.