Options for "act"

Here are the possible values for act (which specifies how the contents of the field are to be varied for each record):

FX

The contents of the field are to remain fixed.

RA

The contents of the field are to be generated from characters selected at random from the specified pattern. A different set of characters is selected for each record.

RO

The contents of the field are to be rolled. The pattern you specify is shifted left one byte for each record until the first non-blank character of the pattern is in the first byte of the field. Then, the pattern is shifted right one byte for each output record until it returns to its original position in the field. RO can only be used with a user-supplied pattern, not with an IBM®-supplied pattern.

The pattern must start with a blank, or the result is the same as FX. The roll only occurs within the length of the pattern.

RP

The contents of the field are to be rippled. The pattern you specify is shifted left one byte for each record and the truncated character is appended to the right hand end of the pattern.

SL

The contents of the field are to be shifted left for each record. The pattern you specify is shifted left one character and filled to the right with a space. When all characters in the pattern have been shifted out, the original pattern is restored and the process is repeated.

SR

The contents of the field are to be shifted right for each record. The pattern you specify is shifted right one character and filled to the left with a space. When all characters in the pattern have been shifted out, the original pattern is restored and the process is repeated.

TL

The contents of the field are to be truncated on the left for each record. The pattern you specify is left truncated (the leftmost character replaced with a space) one character at a time until all characters in the pattern have been truncated. Then, the original pattern is restored and the process is repeated.

TR

The contents of the field are to be truncated on the right for each record. The pattern you specify is right truncated (the rightmost character replaced with a space) one character at a time until all characters in the pattern have been truncated. Then, the original pattern is restored and the process is repeated.

WV

The contents of the field are to be waved. The pattern you specify is shifted left one byte for each record until the first non-blank character of the pattern is in the first byte of the field. Then, the original pattern is restored and the process repeated. WV can only be used with a user-supplied pattern, not with an IBM®-supplied pattern.

The pattern must start with a blank, or the result is the same as FX. The roll only occurs within the length of the pattern.