Using File Headers to Identify Which Strategy was Used to Create a Transport File

How you identify the traditional strategy (XPORT engine with PROC COPY or PROC CPORT and PROC CIMPORT) that was used to create a transport file depends on your operating environment.

• Under operating environments that store character data in ASCII format, use a text editor or an operating environment read or view command to read the file.

  The XPORT engine creates a file whose first 40 characters contain this ASCII text:

   HEADER RECORD*******LIBRARY HEADER RECORD!!!!!!!00 

  PROC CPORT creates a file whose first 40 characters contain this ASCII text: **COMPRESSED** **COMPRESSED** **COMPRESSED** **COM

  Note  

  If you set the NOCOMPRESS option in PROC CPORT, compression is suppressed, which prevents the display of the preceding text in a transport file.

  For technical details about the transport format that is used for a data set, see Technical Support article TS-140, The Record Layout of a SAS Transport Data Set .

• Under z/OS, because the transport format uses ASCII encoding, non-ASCII operating environments such as z/OS cannot read them in a text editor. For details about how to read transport files in z/OS operating environments, see "Reading Transport Files in z/OS Operating Environments" on page 53.