Identify VSAM ESDS files in a COBOL program with the ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL clause. You can access (read or write) records in sequential files only sequentially.
After you place a record in the file, you cannot shorten, lengthen, or delete it. However, you can update (REWRITE) a record if the length does not change. New records are added at the end of the file.
The following example shows typical FILE-CONTROL entries for a VSAM sequential file (ESDS):
SELECT S-FILE
ASSIGN TO SEQUENTIAL-AS-FILE
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
ACCESS IS SEQUENTIAL
FILE STATUS IS FSTAT-CODE VSAM-CODE.
related concepts
VSAM files