The SFILE keyword is used to define internally the subfiles that are specified in an externally described WORKSTN file. The recformat parameter identifies the RPG IV name of the record format to be processed as a subfile. The rrnfield parameter identifies the name of the relative-record number field for this subfile. You must specify an SFILE keyword for each subfile in the DDS.
If you define a display file like another file using the LIKEFILE keyword, and the parent file has subfiles, then you must specify the SFILE keyword for each subfile in the new file, so that you can provide the names of the relative record number fields for the subfiles.
If a file is defined with the TEMPLATE keyword, the rrnfield parameter of the SFILE keyword is not specified.
The relative-record number of any record retrieved by a READC or CHAIN operation is placed into the field identified by the rrnfield parameter. This field is also used to specify the record number that RPG IV uses for a WRITE operation to the subfile or for output operations that use ADD. The field name specified as the rrnfield parameter must be defined as numeric with zero decimal positions. The field must have enough positions to contain the largest record number for the file. (See the SFLSIZ keyword in the iSeries Information Center database and file systems category.)
Relative record number processing is implicitly defined as part of the SFILE definition. If multiple subfiles are defined, each subfile requires the specification of the SFILE keyword.
Do not use the SFILE keyword with the SLN keyword.
Remember that for a qualified file, the unqualified form of the record format name is used for the first parameter of the SFILE keyword.