Topic       : The GFA-Basic Compendium
Author      : GFA Systemtechnik GmbH
Version     : GFABasic.HYP v2.98 (12/31/2023)
Subject     : Documentation/Programming
Nodes       : 899
Index Size  : 28056
HCP-Version : 3
Compiled on : Atari
@charset    : atarist
@lang       : 
@default    : Document not found
@help       : Help
@options    : +g -i -s +z
@width      : 75
@hostname   : STRNGSRV
@hostname   : CAB     
@hostname   : HIGHWIRE
@hostname   : THING   
View Ref-FileFIELD
GET #, PUT #
RECORD #

In the following section the handling of a Random Access file is described.
Two terms are particularly important: Data record and data field. A data field
is a single item of information, for instance a name or telephone number. A
data record consists of a number of data fields, and is analogous to one card
in a card index. The length of a record (in bytes) must equal the sum of the
lengths of the individual fields.

The difference between a random access file and a sequential file lies in the
method of data access. With a sequential file the entire file must be loaded in
order to be able to access a particular data record, whereas with a random
access file the record may be obtained directly. This is particularly useful
with very large files, although this advantage is offset by greater consumption
of space on the disk, because a random access file uses a fixed record length,
resulting in waste if some records are shorter than others.

Memo: FIELD and related commands when compiled, in most cases issue the
      wrong error code. If you see error #111, it's really some other error.