A record contains a sequence of characters or values. XL Fortran supports three record types:
A formatted record consists of a sequence of ASCII characters that can print in a readable format. Reading a formatted record converts the data values from readable characters into an internal representation. Writing a formatted record converts the data from the internal representation into characters.
An unformatted record contains a sequence of values in an internal representation that can contain both character and noncharacter data. An unformatted record can also contain no data. Reading or writing an unformatted record does not convert any data the record contains from the internal representation.
An endfile record occurs at the end of a file connected for sequential access and occupies no storage. You can write an endfile record using the ENDFILE statement. You can also use a WRITE statement that executes as the last data transfer statement and meets one of the following requirements:
Another file positioning statement must not occur between the WRITE statement and any of the previous
requirements.