7.2. Text file structure

The text file structure consists of a stream of 8-bit ASCII characters. Every record in a text file is terminated by a newline character (\n, ASCII 012). Some utilities may omit the newline character on the last record, but the Fortran library will treat such an occurrence as a malformed record. This file structure can be specified for a file that is declared as formatted sequential access or formatted direct access. It is the default file structure for formatted sequential access files. On UNICOS and UNICOS/mk systems, it is also the default file structure for formatted direct access files.

The assign -s text command specifies the library-buffered text file structure. Both library and system buffering are done for all text file structures (for more information about library buffering, see Chapter 8).

An I/O request for a file using assign -s text does not need to be a multiple of a specific number of bytes.

You cannot use BUFFER IN and BUFFER OUT statements with this structure. Use a BACKSPACE statement to reposition a file with this structure.