A control edit descriptor takes one of the following forms:
c
cn
nc
c
Is one of the following format codes: T, TL, TR, X, S, SP, SS, BN, BZ, P, :, /, \, $, and Q.
n
Is a number of character positions. It must be a positive integer literal constant or a variable format expression. No kind parameter can be specified. It cannot be a named constant.
The range of n is 1 through 2147483647 (2**31-1) on Intel® 64 and IA-64 architectures; 1 through 32767 (2**15-1) on IA-32 architecture. Actual useful ranges may be constrained by record sizes (RECL) and the file system.
Description
In general, control edit descriptors are nonrepeatable. The only exception is the slash (/) edit descriptor, which can be preceded by a repeat specification.
The control edit descriptors have the following specific forms:
| Positional: Sign: Blank interpretation: Scale factor: Miscellaneous: |
Tn, TLn, TRn, and nX S, SP, and SS BN and BZ kP :, /, \, $, and Q |
The P edit descriptor is an exception to the general control edit descriptor syntax. It is preceded by a scale factor, rather than a character position specifier.
Control edit descriptors can be grouped in parentheses and preceded by a group repeat specification.
See Also