Report Writer Verbs: Overview
The three main report writer verbs INITIATE, GENERATE, and TERMINATE may be used in the same way as any other COBOL verb and may be used anywhere in the program except in a USE BEFORE REPORTING Declarative SECTION. Of the remaining procedural statements, the USE BEFORE REPORTING directive enables you to write a section of code in the DECLARATIVES portion that is to be performed automatically just before the specified report group is output, and the Report Writer SET statements make it possible to place report groups irregularly on the page.
Sequence of Operations
For a single report using a simple file as input, the normal sequence of operations is as follows:
with the following basic plan for the PROCEDURE DIVISION:
Keyword Table
The following table lists the PROCEDURE DIVISION elements associated with COBOL-IT Report Writer with a summary of their purposes. The third and fourth columns tell you whether or not the item is part of the current standard (ANS 85) COBOL and, if so, whether COBOL-IT Report Writer extends the facilities.
| Keyword | Purpose | OS/VS, DOS/VS, COBOL? | Extensions to OS/VS and DOS/VS COBOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initiate | Prepares report for processing | Yes | INITIATE...UPON file-name Report may be global |
| Generate | Handles main report processing | Yes | Improved order of totalling Page-fit and DECLARATIVES if NOOSVS option used Report may be global |
| Terminate | Concludes all processing for report | Yes | Report may be global |
| Use before Reporting | Invokes SECTION in DECLARATIVES when named report group is printed | Yes | May specify Detail group May be global |
| Suppress Printing | Prevents data being printed for a report group | No | |
| Move 1 To Print-Switch | Alternative to Suppress Printing | Yes | |
| Set Page/Line/Column | Controls Page Buffer operations | No |