This document covers the following topics:
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagram, see Syntax Symbols.
Related Statements: AT END OF
PAGE
| AT TOP OF
PAGE
| CLOSE
PRINTER
| DEFINE
PRINTER
|
DISPLAY
|
EJECT
|
FORMAT
|
NEWPAGE
|
PRINT
|
SKIP
|
SUSPEND IDENTICAL SUPPRESS
| WRITE TITLE
|
WRITE TRAILER
Belongs to Function Group: Creation of Output Reports
The WRITE
statement is used to produce output in free
format.
The WRITE
statement differs from the
DISPLAY
statement in the
following respects:
Line overflow is supported. If the line width is exceeded for a line, the next field (or text) is written on the next line. Fields or text elements are not split between lines.
No default column headers are created. The length of the data determines the number of positions printed for each field.
A range of values/occurrences for an array is output horizontally rather than vertically.
See also the following topics in the Programming Guide:
WRITE
[(rep)] [NOTITLE ] [NOHDR ]
|
||||||||
[(statement-parameters)] | ||||||||
nX
|
'text' [(attributes)] | |||||||
nT
|
'c'(n) [(attributes)] | |||||||
x/y | ['='] operand1 [(parameters)] | |||||||
T* field-name
|
||||||||
P* field-name
|
||||||||
/ |
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagram, see Syntax Symbols.
Operand Definition Table:
Operand | Possible Structure | Possible Formats | Referencing Permitted | Dynamic Definition | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
operand1
|
S | A | G | N | A | U | N | P | I | F | B | D | T | L | G | O | yes | no |
Syntax Element Description:
Syntax Element | Description |
---|---|
(rep) |
Report Specification:
The notation
As report identification, a value in the range If If this printer file is defined to Natural as PC, the report will be downloaded to the PC, see Example 6. For information on how to control the format of an output report created with Natural, see Report Format and Control (in the Programming Guide). |
NOTITLE
|
Default Page Title Suppression:
Natural generates a single title line for each page resulting from
a Examples:
Notes:
|
NOHDR
|
Column Header Suppression:
The Without the |
statement-parameters
|
Parameter Definition at Statement
Level:
One or more parameters, enclosed within parentheses, may be
specified at statement level, that is, immediately after the Each parameter specified will override the corresponding parameter
previously specified in a If more than one parameter is specified, they must be separated by one or more blanks from one another. Each parameter specification must not be split between two statement lines. Note: See also: |
nX ,
nT, x/y ,
T*field-name ,
P*field-name , '=' ,
/ |
Field Positioning Notation:
See Field Positioning Notations in the section Output Format Definitions. |
'text' ,
'c'(n) ,
attributes ,
operand1 ,
parameters
|
Text/Attribute Assignment:
See Text/Attribute Assignment in the section Output Format Definitions. |
Parameters that can be specified with the WRITE statement | Specification (S = at statement level, E = at element level) | |
---|---|---|
AD
|
Attribute Definition | SE |
AL
|
Alphanumeric Length for Output | SE |
BX
|
Box Definition | SE |
CD
|
Color Definition | SE |
CV
|
Control Variable | SE |
DF
|
Date Format | SE |
DL |
Display Length for Output | SE |
DY
|
Dynamic Attributes | SE |
EM
|
Edit Mask | SE |
EMU |
Unicode Edit Mask | E |
FL
|
Floating Point Mantissa Length | SE |
IS
|
Identical Suppress | SE |
LS
|
Line Size | S |
MC
|
Multiple-Value Field Count | S |
MP
|
Maximum Number of Pages of a Report | S |
NL
|
Numeric Length for Output | SE |
PC
|
Periodic Group Count | S |
PM
|
Print Mode | SE |
PS
|
Page Size * | S |
SG
|
Sign Position | SE |
UC |
Underlining Character | S |
ZP
|
Zero Printing | SE |
* If the number of occurrences of an array exceeds
the PS
value, a NAT0303 error will be output.
The individual session parameters are described in the Parameter Reference.
See also the following topics in the Programming Guide:
DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 VARI (A4) INIT <'1234'> /* Output END-DEFINE /* Produced * /* --------- WRITE 'Text' VARI /* Text 1234 WRITE (PM=I) 'Text' VARI /* Text 4321 WRITE 'Text' (PM=I) VARI (PM=I) /* txeT 4321 WRITE 'Text' (PM=I) VARI /* txeT 1234 END
See also Example 5 - WRITE Statement Using '=' and Parameters on Statement/Element (Field) Level.
nX
|
|||||||
nT
|
|||||||
x/y | 'text' [(attributes)] | ||||||
T* field-name
|
'c' (n) [(attributes)] | ||||||
P* field-name
|
['=' ] operand1
[(parameters )]
|
||||||
/ |
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagram, see Syntax Symbols.
Syntax Element | Description |
---|---|
nX
|
Column Spacing:
This notation inserts Example: WRITE NAME 5X SALARY See also:
|
nT
|
Tab Setting:
The In the following example, WRITE 25T NAME 50T SALARY See also:
|
x/y
|
x/y Positioning:
The See also Positioning Notation x/y (in the Programming Guide). |
T*field-name
|
Field Related Positioning:
The notation See also:
|
P*field-name
|
Field and Line Related Positioning:
The notation See also:
|
'='
|
Field Content Positioned behind Field Heading:
When placed before a field, the equal sign See also: |
/
|
Line Advance - Slash Notation:
When placed between fields or text elements, a slash (/) causes positioning to the beginning of the next print line. Example: WRITE NAME / SALARY Multiple slash (/) notations may be used to cause multiple line advances. See also:
|
Syntax Element | Description |
---|---|
'text'
|
Text Assignment:
The character string enclosed by single quotes is displayed. Example: WRITE 'EMPLOYEE' NAME 'MARITAL/STATUS' MAR-STAT See also:
|
'c'(n)
|
Character Repetition:
The character enclosed by single quotes is displayed
For example: WRITE '*' (5) '=' NAME results in ***** SMITH See also Text Notation, Defining a Character to Be Displayed n Times before a Field Value (in the Programming Guide). |
attributes
|
Field Representation and Color Attributes:
It is possible to assign various attributes for text/field display. These attributes and the syntax that may be used are described in the section Output Attributes below. Examples: WRITE 'TEXT' (BGR) WRITE 'TEXT' (B) WRITE 'TEXT' (BBLC) |
operand1
|
Field to be Written:
Arrays with ranges that allow to vary the number of occurrences at execution time may not be specified. Note: |
parameters
|
Parameter Definition at Element (Field) Level:
One or more parameters, enclosed within parentheses, may be
specified at element (field) level, that is, immediately after
If more than one parameter is specified, one or more blanks must be placed between each entry. An entry may not be split between two statement lines. See also: |
attributes indicates the output attributes to be used for text display. Attributes can be:
ad-value |
Where:
ad-value
,
bx-value
,
cd-value
and
pm-value
denote the possible values of
the corresponding session parameters AD
,
BX
,
CD
and
PM
described
in the relevant sections of the Parameter Reference
documentation.
The compiler actually accepts more than one attribute value for an output
field. For example, you can specify: AD=BDI
. In such a case,
however, only the last value applies. In the given example, only the value
I
becomes effective and the output field is displayed
intensified.
For an alphanumeric/Unicode constant (Natural data format A or U), you can
specify ad-value
and/or
cd-value
without preceding
CD=
or AD=
, respectively. The single value entered is
then checked against all possible CD
values first. For
example: a value of IRE
will be interpreted as intensifed/red but
not as intensified/right-justified/mandatory. You cannot combine a single
cd-value
or
ad-value
with a value preceded by
CD=
or AD=
.
WRITE [(rep)] [NOTITLE ] [NOHDR ] [USING ]
|
FORM
|
operand1 [operand2 ] | ||
MAP
|
For an explanation of the symbols used in the syntax diagram, see Syntax Symbols.
Operand Definition Table:
Operand | Possible Structure | Possible Formats | Referencing Permitted | Dynamic Definition | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
operand1 | C | S | A | no | no | |||||||||||||||
operand2 | S | A | G | N | A | U | N | P | I | F | B | D | T | L | yes | no |
Syntax Element Description:
Syntax Element | Description |
---|---|
[USING] FORM [USING] MAP |
Use of Predefined Form/Map Layout:
This option may be used to indicate that a form/map layout previously defined with the map editor is to be used. A map layout used in a For the line spacing, the |
operand1
|
Form/Map Name:
|
operand2
|
Field to be Written:
If The fields must agree in number, sequence, format, length and (for arrays) number of occurrences with the fields in the referenced form/map; otherwise, an error occurs. |
NOTITLE/NOHDR
|
Title Line/Column Header Suppression:
|
Example 5 - WRITE Statement Using '=' and Parameters on Statement/Element (Field) Level
Example 6 - Report Specification with Output File Defined to Natural as PC
** Example 'WRTEX1': WRITE (with '=', 'text', '/') ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 EMPL-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 2 FULL-NAME 3 FIRST-NAME 3 MIDDLE-I 3 NAME 2 CITY 2 COUNTRY END-DEFINE * LIMIT 1 READ EMPL-VIEW BY NAME /* WRITE NOTITLE '=' NAME '=' FIRST-NAME '=' MIDDLE-I // 'L O C A T I O N' / 'CITY: ' CITY / 'COUNTRY:' COUNTRY // /* END-READ END
NAME: ABELLAN FIRST-NAME: KEPA MIDDLE-I: L O C A T I O N CITY: MADRID COUNTRY: E
** Example 'WRTEX2': WRITE (with nX, nT notation) ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 EMPL-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 2 NAME 2 JOB-TITLE END-DEFINE * LIMIT 4 READ EMPL-VIEW BY NAME WRITE NOTITLE 5X NAME 50T JOB-TITLE END-READ END
ABELLAN MAQUINISTA ACHIESON DATA BASE ADMINISTRATOR ADAM CHEF DE SERVICE ADKINSON PROGRAMMER
** Example 'WRTEX3': WRITE (with T* notation) ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 EMPL-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 2 NAME 2 CITY 2 SALARY (1) END-DEFINE * LIMIT 5 READ EMPL-VIEW BY CITY STARTING FROM 'ALBU' DISPLAY NOTITLE CITY NAME SALARY (1) AT BREAK CITY /* WRITE / 'CITY AVERAGE:' T*SALARY (1) AVER(SALARY(1)) // /* END-BREAK END-READ END
CITY NAME ANNUAL SALARY -------------------- -------------------- ---------- ALBUQUERQUE HAMMOND 22000 ALBUQUERQUE ROLLING 34000 ALBUQUERQUE FREEMAN 34000 ALBUQUERQUE LINCOLN 41000 CITY AVERAGE: 32750 ALFRETON GOLDBERG 4800 CITY AVERAGE: 4800
** Example 'WRTEX4': WRITE (with P* notation) ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 EMPL-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 2 NAME 2 CITY 2 BIRTH 2 SALARY (1) END-DEFINE * LIMIT 3 READ EMPL-VIEW BY CITY FROM 'N' DISPLAY NOTITLE NAME CITY VERT AS 'BIRTH/SALARY' BIRTH (EM=YYYY-MM-DD) SALARY (1) SKIP 1 AT BREAK CITY WRITE / 'CITY AVERAGE' P*SALARY (1) AVER(SALARY (1)) // END-BREAK END-READ END
NAME CITY BIRTH SALARY -------------------- -------------------- ---------- WILCOX NASHVILLE 1970-01-01 38000 MORRISON NASHVILLE 1949-07-10 36000 CITY AVERAGE 37000 BOYER NEMOURS 1955-11-23 195900 CITY AVERAGE 195900
** Example 'WRTEX5': WRITE (using '=', statement/element parameters) ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 EMPL-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 2 NAME 2 PERSONNEL-ID 2 PHONE END-DEFINE * LIMIT 2 READ EMPL-VIEW BY NAME WRITE NOTITLE (AL=16 NL=8) '=' PERSONNEL-ID '=' NAME '=' PHONE (AL=10 EM=XXX-XXXXXXX) END-READ END
PERSONNEL ID: 60008339 NAME: ABELLAN TELEPHONE: 435-6726 PERSONNEL ID: 30000231 NAME: ACHIESON TELEPHONE: 523-341
** Example 'PCDIEX1': DISPLAY and WRITE to PC ** ** NOTE: Example requires that Natural Connection is installed. ************************************************************************ DEFINE DATA LOCAL 01 PERS VIEW OF EMPLOYEES 02 PERSONNEL-ID 02 NAME 02 CITY END-DEFINE * FIND PERS WITH CITY = 'NEW YORK' /* Data selection WRITE (7) TITLE LEFT 'List of employees in New York' / DISPLAY (7) /* (7) designates the output file (here the PC). 'Location' CITY 'Surname' NAME 'ID' PERSONNEL-ID END-FIND END