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From: GOLDMAN%FSU.MFENET@NMFECC.ARPA
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Message-ID: <870109132114.03q@nmfecc.arpa>
Date: Fri, 9-Jan-87 16:21:14 EST
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Posted: Fri Jan  9 16:21:14 1987
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     How does one determine from inside a program whether an existing disk file
(FORM="UNFORMATTED")  is  RECORDTYPE="VARIABLE"  or  RECORDTYPE="SEGMENTED"
(say from within a FORTRAN program).
     I have had many suggestions to use the INQUIRE statement, so perhaps
I should have mentioned that for un'OPEN'ed files the INQUIRE statement
returns RECORDTYPE=VARIABLE whenever the file is either VARIABLE or
SEGMENTED.
     My primitive solution to the problem has been to OPEN the file
with  RECORDTYPE=SEGMENTED  and then do a test read with IOSTAT=IOS.
If IOS=35 (segmented record format error) I CLOSE the file and re'OPEN it,
this time with  RECORDTYPE=VARIABLE.  Otherwise I just REWIND the file and
go on about my business.
                                                Thanks
                                                Harvey Goldman
                                                Physics Department
                                                Florida State Univ.
                                                Tallahassee, Florida 32301
                                                (904-644-1492)