The TYPE parameter can be used to indicate the record format. TYPE=F indicates fixed-length records; TYPE=V indicates variable-length records. TYPE=FB or TYPE=VB can be specified but the 'B' is ignored.
TYPE should be specified if SORTIN is VSAM. If TYPE is not provided, the SORTOUT RECFM will be examined to determine the SORTIN TYPE. If no SORTOUT RECFM is found, TYPE=V will be assumed if SORTOUT is VSAM and TYPE=F if there is no SORTOUT or SORTOUT is non-VSAM.
Note: If the TYPE specification differs from the RECFM DCB parameter for the
SORTIN/SORTINnn DD statement, the latter takes
precedence.