HINT Directive

The HINT directive allows the specification of a custom hint that will be used for a specific key when working on Oracle database with Database Bridge. If specified, this hint is used instead of the hint that is automatically generated by -Oh option.

$EFD HINT idxNum:hintValue

or

*(( EFD HINT idxNum:hintValue ))

or

*>(( EFD HINT idxNum:hintValue ))

idxNum is the number of the key that will be affected by the hint. This number is calculated considering the order of the keys in the File-Control, where 1 is the primary key while 2 and higher values are the alternate keys.

hintValue can be a string or a number.

•	If a string is used, the string is generated as it is in the SQL hint. For example, the following directive generates the hint /*+ ordered */ for readings on the first key.

FD file1. $EFD HINT 1:"ordered"  01 file1-record.  ...

•	If a number is used, the number specifies the index to be suggested for the query in the SQL hint. For example, the directive below generates a hint that makes Oracle use the first index when the COBOL program is reading the second key of the file:

FD file1. $EFD HINT 2:1  01 file1-record.  ...