6. The method of claim 1 further comprising defining a SCHEMA statement that defines a plurality of fields within said record, one of said defined fields comprising an offset defining a location in said record, a field name, and a field length.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising defining a SCHEMA statement that defines a plurality of fields within said record, one of said defined fields comprising an offset defining a location in said record, a field name, and a field length. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said offset is computed by said data processing system.