SETKEY

The SETKEY reconciliation function defines the record key of the records to be used by the Reconciliation facility. The SETKEY function defines the record key for files that have similar record layouts, for example, the key fields can be identified without any further processing.

The SETKEY or WRITE function can be run to perform Stage 1, the Preparation stage, of the Reconciliation facility.

The SETKEY function should be run when

• reconciling one (usually large) existing input file – for example, to produce summary records

  In this case, the SETKEY function can be performed on the file without merging afterward

• comparing or summing files with the same record layout

The MERGEX function and the SUMX function cannot be performed when the SETKEY function is used.

Note: The WRITE function also performs Stage 1 of the reconciliation. For instructions on when to use the WRITE function, see WRITE.

The input file for the SETKEY function should be referenced by the SORTIN DD statement. A work file is not required when using the SETKEY function. However, the SORTIN DD statement must reference the original file to be reconciled. Several input files may be concatenated through this DD statement if they have identical record layouts.

The SETKEY function expects pairs of offset and length parameters as input, and uses these parameters to define the record key. The record key is later used to determine whether two records are identical.