Special Files Can Do It All
April 13, 2005 Ted Holt
A special file is a file that is a front-end for a program. That is, when an I/O request occurs to the special file, the system calls a program. The ILE RPG Programmer’s Guide refers to this called program as the “user-written routine.” Special files provide a way for RPG to do anything that a program can do.
To tell an RPG program that a file is special file, use the device type SPECIAL in the file description specifications. In the keyword section of the F spec, use the PGMNAME keyword to name the user-written routine that is to be
