Cursor is a fullword which is both an input and an output field. Like Count, it is maintained in terms of entries, not bytes (except for buffer types whose entry length is 1). An application would normally set the cursor to 0 when beginning a sequence of accesses. At the end of each request the fast data access service will set the cursor to the next sequentially available entry. In most cases the application can reset the cursor to any desired value so long as it is within the scope of the objects being retrieved.

There are a few exceptions for entries which are structured but varying in length, such as PTI entries. These entries have a formal entry length of 1, but a practical entry length larger than that. If the application resets the cursor it must be set to the beginning of an entry. This means that for these classes the application could back up to a previously saved point, but it could not jump ahead. Any data skipped should be treated by the calling application as containing the fill character (normally X'00').