xNaming and Storing Report Output Files
During a session, a report output file remains usable
until it is erased or overwritten. A subsequent output file created
during the same session replaces the initial version, unless you
give it another name by using the AS phrase.
A FILEDEF or ALLOCATE command is automatically issued when you
create an output file. The ddname used to identify the file is the
same as the name of the report output file (HOLD, SAVE, or SAVB,
or the name in the AS phrase), if not already allocated.
By default, report output files created with HOLD, SAVE, or SAVB
are written to temporary space. When the session ends, these files
are no longer available unless you save the output to a specific
location.
To save report output files to a specific location, use a FILEDEF
or ALLOCATE command. For details, see Saving and Retrieving HOLD Files. In
z/OS, you can dynamically allocate an output file using the DYNAM
ALLOCATE or TSO ALLOCATE command.
For details, see the Developing Reporting Applications manual.
When you create
a HOLD file using the syntax ON TABLE HOLD AS name, the name
can contain up to the maximum number of characters supported by
your operating system. While a numeric name or a name beginning
with a number is valid on many operating systems, such names are
discouraged because they:
- Cause errors
(FOC14069) when a request attempts to access data using a SUFFIX=EDA
synonym that points to a file starting with a number. (Note that
a SUFFIX=EDA synonym is created by the Adapter for Remote Servers.)
- May cause
problems when an external application (such as an API application)
that does not accept files starting with numbers interacts with
a SUFFIX=EDA synonym that points to a file starting with a number.
- May be problematic
to a third party application that does not work with numeric file names
or with file names that begin with numbers.