Handling exceptions

A segment exception or segment error is an input data segment that cannot be reloaded. A segment that cannot be reloaded, along with its dependent segments, can be bypassed and optionally written to a discard file. A discard file is an output file that is used to hold data that cannot be reloaded.

If an unload file contains data that cannot be reloaded, the exception handling facility for the RELOAD command can be used to tolerate this data and continue processing at the next valid data segment. When a segment exception is encountered, the reload process will bypass that segment and the dependent segments that follow until:

• Another occurrence of the same segment type is encountered

• An occurrence of a segment at the same or higher level of the hierarchy is encountered

• End of the file is reached

To tolerate segment exceptions during the reload process and optionally write the discarded data to a discard file

1. Assign the number of exceptions, to be allowed before the RELOAD command process terminates, to the EXCEPTION_LIMIT keyword. This assignment overrides the default value of zero, to allow reload processing to continue. Once the number of segment exceptions encountered is greater than the exception limit value assigned, reload processing terminates or stops. For more information, see Assigning an exception limit.
2. Assign the number of exceptions, to be allowed before the RELOAD command process terminates, to the EXCEPTION_LIMIT keyword. This assignment overrides the default value of zero, to allow reload processing to continue. Once the number of segment exceptions encountered is greater than the exception limit value assigned, reload processing terminates or stops. For more information, see Assigning an exception limit.

3. Specify the DISCARD_FILECTL subcommand, to optionally write the segment exceptions to a discard file. The EXCEPTION_LIMIT keyword and the DISCARD_FILECTL subcommand must be provided for the segment exceptions to be written to the discard file. For more information, see Writing to a discarded data file.

   Note

   When segment exceptions are encountered, the reload step will end with a return code of 12, whether or not segment exceptions have been discarded.

This section contains the following topics:

• Assigning an exception limit
• Writing to a discarded data file