The following is a list of valid mfsort instructions:
| Instruction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| * | The rest of the line is treated as a comment. This is useful if you are supplying instructions via a text file as you can add comments to the file which explain the purpose of each instruction. |
| CHAR-EBCDIC | EBCDIC data. CHAR-EBCDIC must precede all SORT, MERGE, USE or GIVE instructions. |
| SIGN-EBCDIC | Numeric DISPLAY items with included signs are interpreted according to the EBCDIC convention. SIGN-EBCDIC is not required when CHAR-EBCDIC is specified; it is required for data that is otherwise ASCII, such as when the program which created the data was compiled with the SIGN"EBCDIC" Compiler directive. SIGN-EBCDIC must precede all SORT, MERGE, USE or GIVE instructions. |
| SORT-EBCDIC | Record-sequential ASCII files are sorted in EBCDIC order. |
| SORT/MERGE | These instructions specify either a sort or a merge option and must be followed by a FIELDS instruction specifying the field(s) to be used. The FIELDS instruction may optionally be followed by a RECORD instruction specifying the record size and format of the workfile. SORT and MERGE are mutually exclusive. |
| FIELDS (instructions) | The fields on which the file is to be sorted or merged. See the section Fields Instruction. |
| RECORD definition | Record size and format. A RECORD instruction can be used to specify these details for the workfile, input file(s) and output file(s). See the section RECORD Instruction. |
| USE input-file | Each USE instruction specifies an input file. You must specify all USE instructions before any GIVE instructions. See the section Defining Input and Output Files. |
| GIVE output-file | Each GIVE instruction specifies an output file. See the section Defining Input and Output Files. |
| INCLUDE/OMIT | Specifies conditions in which records will be included or omitted from the sort process. For details, see the IBM documentation to be found at . INCLUDE and OMIT are mutually exclusive. |
| INREC | Reformats records before the SORT/MERGE process. |
| OUTREC | Reformats records following the SORT/MERGE process. |
| MODS | Specifies external procedures (user exits) that are executed, each time a record is released to or returned from the SORT/MERGE process. This implementation supports the E15 and E35 user exits. |
| SUM | Specifies that records with the same key value are returned as a single record. Optionally, a field may be specified to accumulate totals for all records with equal keys. The SUM operation can be done for the following control field types: |
| OUTFIL | This is used to specify complex editing and reporting to one or more output files. Each output file should be specified using a GIVE command. Otherwise, OUTFIL works as described in the IBM documentation to be found at . |
| OPTION | This can be used to specify various options. One of these options is COPY which results in records being copied, rather than sorted, to the output file. |