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Will my old transfers run on V5R1?

We are currently at V4R5. I have some file transfers that are running from a DOS-based machine (and using the old IDDU definitions from the S/36 days). Will those transfers run on V5R1? I have heard conflicting answers. Some say NO, others say maybe. Is there a definite yes or no? (I know the transfers need to be changed; I have all of the new transfers using FTP. But it is one of those "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" things.) Also, I have heard that the spool file parameters are different. I do quite a few copy spool files to e-mail as text files. Can you tell me what the changes are?

The old transfers should still work as they do now on V4R5. The support for the transfers is still there, but I wouldn't bet on them being supported for more than one or two more releases. The Copy Spooled File (Including the *S36 format) have added functionality, but the commands will still process your spooled files exactly as they do now. When creating an OS/400 command, the original parameters, data types and passing order will always remain the same. Unless the command is being deleted from the operating system, I can not remember more than one or two commands ever changing any parameters. API's will change, but commands will not.

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This was first published in October 2002

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