Support ability to compare a current segment layout field with a previous segment layout field.

File Manager supports creating templates that map segmented records. A segmented record is one where different portions of the record are mapped with different layouts. The template has to know how to identify which possible segment layouts apply to the different parts of the record.

A difficulty arises when such segment identification would depend on a relationship between data in the current prospective segment, compared to data in a previously identified segment.

For example, let's say a segment uses layout "X" if field key-x contains a value that is the same as field variable-segment-key-y in segment "Y".

Currently this can't be done without workarounds:

• The "related id" field will only reference fields from the related segment, not anything from the current segment

• The "id" criteria field will only reference fields from the current segment, and no fields from other segments

• There are no functions that can be used to refer to fields in other previously id'd segments

The current workaround is to use hacks to cause a symbol to be defined while processing segments, to remember data from that segment. Then the symbol can be referenced later. But this is not easy, nor is it something anyone would be able to figure out how to do without learning the secret from File Manager support.

The idea here is for File Manager to support a syntax that will allow the comparison of a field in one segment with the field in a prevously identified segment. What such syntax should be I leave up to IBM.

It could, for example, be a function that returns the value of a template field given a segment name, field name, and an optional specification of which segment occurance when there are multiple (e.g. first instance, last instance, or specific number instance). The function would only be able to reference fields from segments that are earlier in the record from the current segment.