Basic Form of the OPEN DATASET Statement
To open a file on the application server, use the OPEN statement as follows:
Syntax
OPEN DATASET <dsn> [Additions].
This statement opens the file <dsn>. If you do not specify any additions for the mode, the file is opened in binary mode for reading. SY-SUBRC returns 0 if the system opens the file. Otherwise, SY-SUBRC is set to 8.
You enter the filename <dsn> either as a literal or as a field containing the actual name of the file. If you do not specify a path, the system opens the file in the directory in which the R/3 System is running on the application server. To open a file, the user under which the R/3 System is running must have the requisite authorizations at operating system level.
Filenames are platform-specific. You must therefore use file- and pathnames that conform to the rules of the operating system under which your R/3 System is running. However, you can also use logical filenames to ensure that your programs are not operating system-specific. For further information, refer to
DATA FNAME(60).
FNAME = '/tmp/myfile'.
OPEN DATASET 'myfile'.
OPEN DATASET FNAME.
This example works as long as your R/3 System is running under UNIX. The program opens the file "myfile" in the directory in which the R/3 System is running, and also opens the file "myfile" in directory "/tmp". However, you would have to change the filename for other operating systems. For example, for OpenVMS, you could write the following:
FNAME = '[TMP]myfile.BIN'
OPEN DATASET 'myfile.BIN'.
