Modifying Values Set by the DESCRIBE Statement

You can use a DESCRIBE statement to modify the contents of a system-descriptor area after it is set.

After you use DESCRIBE on a SELECT or an INSERT statement, you must check to determine whether the TYPE field is set to either 11 or 12 to indicate a TEXT or BYTE data type. If TYPE contains an 11 or a 12, you must use the SET DESCRIPTOR statement to reset TYPE to 116, which indicates FILE type.