WRITE

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

Function

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:

Syntax 1 - Dynamic Formatting

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 (rep) is used to specify the identification of the report if multiple reports are to be produced by the program.

As report identification, a value in the range 0 - 31 or a logical name which has been assigned using the DEFINE PRINTER statement may be specified.

If (rep) is not specified, the statement will apply to the first report (Report 0).

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 WRITE statement. This title contains the page number, the time of day, and the date. Time of day is set at the beginning of program execution. This default title line may be overridden by using a WRITE TITLE statement, or it may be suppressed by using the NOTITLE option in the WRITE statement.

Examples:

  • Default title will be produced:

    WRITE NAME

  • User title will be produced:

    WRITE NAME WRITE TITLE 'user-title'

  • No title will be produced:

    WRITE NOTITLE NAME

Notes:

  1. If the NOTITLE option is used, it applies to all DISPLAY, PRINT and WRITE statements within the same object which write data to the same report.
  2. Page overflow is checked before execution of a WRITE statement. No new page with title or trailer information is generated during the execution of a WRITE statement.
NOHDR
Column Header Suppression:

The WRITE statement itself does not produce any column headers. However, if you use the WRITE statement in conjunction with a DISPLAY statement, you can use the NOHDR option of the WRITE statement to suppress the column headers generated by the DISPLAY statement. The NOHDR option only takes effect if the execution of the WRITE statement causes a new page to be output.

Without the NOHDR option, the column headers (if any) of the DISPLAY statement would be output on this new page; with NOHDR they will not.

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 WRITE statement.

Each parameter specified will override the corresponding parameter previously specified in a GLOBALS command, SET GLOBALS (in Reporting Mode only) or FORMAT statement.

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:
The parameter settings applied here will only be regarded for variable fields, but they have no effect on text-constants. If you would like to set field attributes for a text-constant, they have to be set explicitly for this element, see Parameter Definition at Element (Field) Level.

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.

List of Parameters

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
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

* The PS session parameter setting is not considered if the number of occurrences of an array exceeds the PS value.

The individual session parameters are described in the Parameter Reference.

See also the following topics in the Programming Guide:

Example of Parameter Usage at Statement and Element (Field) Level 

DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VARI (A4)     INIT <'1234'>                  /*     Output 
END-DEFINE                                     /*    Produced
*                                              /*    ---------
WRITE           'Text'           VARI          /*    Text 1234
WRITE (AD=U)    'Text'           VARI          /*    Text 1234
WRITE           'Text' (AD=U)    VARI (AD=U)   /*    Text 1234
WRITE           'Text' (AD=U)    VARI          /*    Text 1234
END

See also Example 5 - WRITE Statement Using '=' and Parameters on Statement/Element (Field) Level.

Output Format Definitions

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.

Field Positioning Notations

Syntax Element Description
nX
Column Spacing:

This notation inserts n spaces between columns.

Example: 

WRITE NAME 5X SALARY

See also:
nT
Tab Setting:

The nT notation causes positioning (tabulation) to print position n. Backward positioning is not permitted.

In the following example, NAME is printed beginning in position 25, and SALARY is printed beginning in position 50: 

WRITE 25T NAME 50T SALARY

See also:
x/y
x/y Positioning:

The x/y notation causes the next element to be placed x lines below the output of the last statement, beginning in column y. y must not be zero. Backward positioning in the same line is not permitted.

See also Positioning Notation x/y (in the Programming Guide).

T*field-name
Field Related Positioning:

The notation T* is used to position to a specific print position of a field used in a previous DISPLAY statement. Backward positioning is not permitted.

See also:
P*field-name
Field and Line Related Positioning:

The notation P* is used to position to a specific print position and line of a field used in a previous DISPLAY statement. It is most often used in conjunction with vertical printing mode. Backward positioning is not permitted.

See also:
'='
Field Content Positioned behind Field Heading:

When placed before a field, the equal sign '=' results in the display of the field heading (as defined in the DEFINE DATA statement or in the DDM) followed by the field contents.

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:

Text/Attribute Assignments

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 n times immediately before the field value.

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:

operand1 specifies the field whose content is to be written in this place.

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 operand1. Each parameter specified in this manner will override the corresponding parameter previously specified at statement level or in a GLOBALS command, SET GLOBALS (in Reporting Mode only) or FORMAT statement.

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:

Output Attributes

attributes indicates the output attributes to be used for text display. Attributes can be:

AD=ad-value
CD=cd-value
PM=pm-value

ad-value
cd-value

Where:

ad-value, cd-value and pm-value denote the possible values of the corresponding session parameters AD, 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=.

Syntax 2 - Using Predefined Form/Map

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 WRITE statement does not automatically create a new page each time the map is output.

For the line spacing, the LS parameter setting must be 1 byte greater than the LS setting defined in the map.

operand1
Form/Map Name:

operand1 is the name of the form/map to be used.

operand2
Field to be Written:

operand2 is the name(s) of the field(s) to be written.

If operand1 is a constant and operand2 is omitted, the fields are taken from the map source at compilation time.

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:

NOTITLE and NOHDR are described under Syntax 1 of the WRITE statement.

Examples

Example 1 - WRITE Statement Using '=', 'text', '/' 

** 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

Output of Program WRTEX1:

NAME: ABELLAN              FIRST-NAME: KEPA                 MIDDLE-I:       
                                                                            
L O C A T I O N                                                             
CITY:    MADRID                                                             
COUNTRY: E

Example 2 - WRITE Statement Using nX, nT Notation 

** 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

Output of WRTEX2:

ABELLAN                                     MAQUINISTA             
ACHIESON                                    DATA BASE ADMINISTRATOR
ADAM                                        CHEF DE SERVICE        
ADKINSON                                    PROGRAMMER

Example 3 - WRITE Statement Using T* Notation

** 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

Output of Program WRTEX3:

        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 4 - WRITE Statement Using P* Notation

** 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

Output of Program WRTEX4:

        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 5 - WRITE Statement Using '=' and Parameters on Statement/Element (Field) Level 

** 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

Output of Program WRTEX5:

PERSONNEL ID: 60008339         NAME: ABELLAN          TELEPHONE: 435-6726
PERSONNEL ID: 30000231         NAME: ACHIESON         TELEPHONE: 523-341

Example 6 - Report Specification with Output File Defined to Natural as PC 

** 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