There are three ways you can read non-FOCUS data sources with user-written procedures. All three are described in User Exits for a Non-FOCUS Data Source.

• You can invoke a user exit contained in the FOCSAM interface and combine simple user written code with the interface's logical functions.
• You can also write an independent user routine to provide records to the Report Writer.

  The records, which can come from any source, are treated exactly as if they come from a FOCUS data source. The user routine must be coded as a subroutine in FORTRAN, COBOL, BAL, or PL/I, and passes data to the Report Writer calling program through arguments in the subroutine.

  The user program is loaded automatically by the Report Writer. It is identified by its file suffix, in the Master File. The suffix is of the form:

  SUFFIX = program_name

  where:

  program_name

  Is the name of your user-written subroutine.

  Thus, if your Master File contains:

  FILE = ABC, SUFFIX = MYREAD

  The program named MYREAD is loaded and called to obtain data whenever there is a TABLE, TABLEF, MATCH, or GRAPH command for data source ABC.

• A decompression exit is also available for compressed VSAM data sources and flat data sources. This is called ZCOMP1. It uses SUFFIX=PRIVATE.

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