The Report Generator takes a report specification and creates a report for viewing or printing.

The elements that must or can be provided to the Report Generator in the report specification are

• set of records

• page structure

• report headings and footings

• page headings and footings

• break headings and footings

• item position and format

How To Construct Report Specifications

A report specification is a series of commands that describe the set of data to be used in the report, the values to be extracted from the data set, and the formatting to be applied to each value and to the report in general.

The general form of a report specification is

REPORT FROM…

report commands

ENDREPORT

Reports can be line-oriented or column-oriented in their formatting.

How To Use Report Commands

Between REPORT FROM, that initiates the report and specifies the set of database records on which the report is to be based, and ENDREPORT, that marks the end of the report specification, any meaningful combination of the following commands can be used.

REPORT HEADING, REPORT FOOTING

Identifies and formats the data that is to appear at the very start and end of the report.

Always line-oriented by default, even in column-oriented reports. Can be column-oriented if desired.

PAGE HEADING, PAGE FOOTING

Identifies and formats the data that is to appear at the top and bottom of each page of the report.

Always line-oriented.

PAGE LEFT, PAGE RIGHT

In column-oriented reports, specifies “headings” that are to appear at the left-hand and right-hand sides of each page of the report.

DETAIL LINE

Extracts and formats values from the set of records specified in the REPORT FROM command, and manages the headings for each set of values.

Obeys the orientation specified in the REPORT FROM command.

BREAK

Specifies the conditions for dividing detail lines into groups and subgroups, and specifies the headings and footings that are to be output for each group.

The break headings and footings obey the orientation specified in the REPORT FROM command. In column-oriented reports, break headings and footings can be line-oriented if desired. Break headings and footings can differ in orientation.

COLUMN BREAK

In column-oriented reports, specifies the headings and footings that are to be output each time DETAIL LINE values carry over to a new tier of the report.

How To Specify the Report Set

The set specification is specified in the REPORT FROM command.

Only those records that fit the set specification are reported. One DETAIL LINE is produced for each record. The records are reported from top to bottom in sequential order. Typically, therefore, the set specification includes a SORT clause to place the records into a logical order.

Sorting is essential if breaks are to be included in the report. (As each record is processed, the break indicator is checked to determine whether a break has occurred.)

How To Specify Report Headings and Footings

Report headings are specified in the REPORT HEADING command; report footings, in the REPORT FOOTING command.

Report headings are processed before any records identified by the set specification are read.

The items specified in the report heading are output only once, at the start of the report.

Report footings are processed after all records identified by the set specification are read.

The items specified in the report footing are output only once, at the end of the report.

How To Specify Page Headings and Footings

Page headings and footings are specified in the PAGE HEADING, PAGE FOOTING, PAGE LEFT, and PAGE RIGHT commands.

Page headings and footings are processed when a page boundary is reached.

The items specified in the page headings/footings are output on every page of the report. The values can vary, however, depending on the source of the items (e.g., the current member from the set specification) and their format (e.g., NOPRINT, SUPPRESS).

How To Specify Breaks and Break Headings and Footings

Breaks, with their associated headings and footings are specified in the BREAK (Reports) command.

Breaks are processed when the break indicator expression changes in value. Many break levels can be specified in one report. Break headings and footings are processed when a break occurs at the corresponding level.

The items specified in the break heading are output when the first record of the set specification is processed, and when the first record of each new break group is processed. The values can vary, however, depending on the source of the items (e.g., the current member from the set specification) and their format (e.g., NOPRINT, SUPPRESS).

The items specified in the break footing are output when the last record of each break group is processed, and when the last record of the set specification is processed. The values can vary, however, depending on the source of the items (e.g., the current member from the set specification) and their format (e.g., NOPRINT, SUPPRESS).

How To Specify Item Position and Format

The items output by the various report commands can be explicitly specified, drawn from the records identified in the set specification, or produced by the evaluation of an expression that involves groups of such values, plus operators and functions, as desired.

Each item is individually positioned and formatted using report format options.

Other formatting of items can be accomplished using character functions such as $trim and $concat.

How To Specify the Report Page Structure

The general structure of a report page is specified in the REPORT FROM command.

Structural details that can be controlled include the overall width and depth of the page, the four margins (top, bottom, left, and right), the spacing between subsequent items on the same line, and the orientation of the entire report (line-oriented or column-oriented).