Multiple choice technology mainframe

The record keys in a CI are 50, 200, and 400. The CI is full, and there is NO free space allocated. What will happen when key 300 is added to the data set shown above?

  1. VSAM will return an error message to the program, because the file is out of space

  2. It will be placed in a new CI by itself. This is a CI split.

  3. Record 300 will be placed in the place where 400 was & Record 400 will be moved to a new CI

  4. Either 2 or 3 depending on some contraints
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

When a VSAM CI is full and a new key (300) must be inserted in sorted order between existing keys (200 and 400), VSAM performs a CI split. Record 400 moves to a new CI, and key 300 takes its place to maintain sorted order. This is called a CI split. Option A is incorrect because VSAM handles space allocation automatically, Option B incorrectly implies 300 goes alone to a new CI, and Option D is vague.

AI explanation

When a CI (control interval) is completely full with no free space and a new key falls in the middle of the existing range, VSAM performs a CI split: it inserts the new record in its correct sorted position within the original CI, and pushes the highest-keyed record(s) that no longer fit into a newly allocated CI. So inserting 300 (which sorts between 200 and 400) keeps 50, 200, 300 in the original CI while 400 is relocated to a new CI, preserving VSAM's key-sequenced ordering.

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