IBM System/34 - SORT - The System Sort Utility

The System Sort Utility

SORT has one to eight input files, which may be of any valid record length. It has one output file, of any stated length, which may contain from zero to 8 million-plus records.

A sort can contain entire records or just 3-byte addresses which point to records in an associated file. This was called an address-out file or ADDROUT. When using an Addrout, the program read in these 3-byte addresses and then fetched associated records from the master file.

A programmer who wanted the benefits of a System/38-style logical file would use an Addrout with a RETAIN-S disposition:

// LOAD MYPROG

// FILE NAME-ADDROUT,LABEL-WS.SORT,RETAIN-S

// RUN

After the program finishes, the Addrout file doesn't exist anymore. It has been "scratched," or set to RETAIN-S, meaning the system auto-deletes it.

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