Using sort routines

PL/I for AIX supports the PLISRTx (x = A, B, C, or D) built-in subroutines. To use the PLISRTx subroutines, you need to:

• Include a call to one of the subroutines and pass it the information on the fields to be sorted. This information includes the length of the records, the name of a variable to be used as a return code, and other information required to carry out the sort.
• Specify the data sets required by the sort program in DD statements.

When used from PL/I, these subroutines sort records of all normal lengths on a large number of sorting fields. Data of most types can be sorted into ascending or descending order. The source of the data to be sorted can be either a data set or a PL/I procedure written by the programmer that the sort program calls each time a record is required for the sort. Similarly, the destination of the sort can be a data set or a PL/I procedure that handles the sorted records.