IFS Path and Stream file concept in IBM i

IFS Path and Stream file concept in IBM i

What is the IFS path?

IFS path tells the system how to access an object. Individual directories and the object name are separated by a slash (/) character. For example:

 /home/EASYCLASS/helloworld 

Here, we use CL command WRKLNK to access any object on the IFS.

Two ways of locating the IFS path

Absolute IFS path

Relative IFS path

Absolute IFS path

An absolute pathname begins at the highest level, or “root” directory (which is identified by the / character). It specifies each and every directory or its subdirectory to locate an object.

Relative IFS path

If the pathname does not begin with the / character, the system assumes that the path begins at your current directory. This type of pathname is called a relative pathname.

DSPCURDIR command

The Display Current Directory (DSPCURDIR) command is used to display the name of the current working directory.

                       Display Current Working Directory                    
                                                                            
 Directory  . . . . . . :   /home/EASYCLASS                                 
                                                                            

Here, my Current Working Directory named /home/EASYCLASS.

What is a Stream file?

A stream file is a randomly accessible sequence of bytes, with no further structure imposed by the system. Documents that are stored in your system's folders are stream files.

                                              
    FLR         Folder                        
    JOBD        Job description               
    JOBQ        Job queue                     
    LIB         Library                       
    LIND        Line description              
    MSGQ        Message queue                 
    OUTQ        Output queue                  
    PGM         Program                       
    SBSD        Subsystem description         
    STMF        Stream file                   
    SYMLNK      Symbolic link                 
    USRPRF      User profile                  

EDTF command to create stream file

                                Edit File (EDTF)                               
                                                                               
 Type choices, press Enter.                                                    
                                                                               
 Stream file, or  . . . . . . . . STMF           /home/easyclass/testfile1     
                                                                               
 Data base file . . . . . . . . . FILE                                         
   Library  . . . . . . . . . . .                  *LIBL                       
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                                                                         

Here, Use Edit File (EDTF) to edit a file 'testfile1'.