Statements DISPLAY and WRITE

This document describes how to use the statements DISPLAY and WRITE to output data and control the format in which information is output.

The following topics are covered:


DISPLAY Statement

The DISPLAY statement produces output in column format; that is, the values for one field are output in a column underneath one another. If multiple fields are output, that is, if multiple columns are produced, these columns are output next to one another horizontally.

The order in which fields are displayed is determined by the sequence in which you specify the field names in the DISPLAY statement.

The DISPLAY statement in the following program displays for each person first the personnel number, then the name and then the job title:

** Example 'DISPLX01': DISPLAY
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 PERSONNEL-ID
  2 NAME
  2 BIRTH
  2 JOB-TITLE
END-DEFINE
*
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY BIRTH
  DISPLAY PERSONNEL-ID NAME JOB-TITLE
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX01:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
PERSONNEL         NAME                  CURRENT
   ID                                  POSITION
--------- -------------------- -------------------------
 
30020013  GARRET               TYPIST
30016112  TAILOR               WAREHOUSEMAN
20017600  PIETSCH              SECRETARY

To change the order of the columns that appear in the output report, simply reorder the field names in the DISPLAY statement. For example, if you prefer to list employee names first, then job titles followed by personnel numbers, the appropriate DISPLAY statement would be:

** Example 'DISPLX02': DISPLAY
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 PERSONNEL-ID
  2 NAME
  2 BIRTH
  2 JOB-TITLE
END-DEFINE
*
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY BIRTH
  DISPLAY NAME JOB-TITLE PERSONNEL-ID
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX02:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
        NAME                  CURRENT          PERSONNEL
                             POSITION             ID
-------------------- ------------------------- ---------
 
GARRET               TYPIST                    30020013
TAILOR               WAREHOUSEMAN              30016112
PIETSCH              SECRETARY                 20017600

A header is output above each column. Various ways to influence this header are described in the document Column Headers.

WRITE Statement

The WRITE statement is used to produce output in free format (that is, not in columns). In contrast to the DISPLAY statement, the following applies to the WRITE statement:

  • If necessary, it automatically creates a line advance; that is, a field or text element that does not fit onto the current output line, is automatically output in the next line.

  • It does not produce any headers.

  • The values of a multiple-value field are output next to one another horizontally, and not underneath one another.

The two example programs shown below illustrate the basic differences between the DISPLAY statement and the WRITE statement.

You can also use the two statements in combination with one another, as described later in the document Vertical Displays, Combining DISPLAY and WRITE.

Example of DISPLAY Statement

** Example 'DISPLX03': DISPLAY
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
  2 SALARY (1:3)
END-DEFINE
*
READ (2) VIEWEMP BY NAME STARTING FROM 'JONES'
  DISPLAY NAME FIRST-NAME SALARY (1:3)
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX03:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
        NAME              FIRST-NAME        ANNUAL
                                            SALARY
-------------------- -------------------- ----------
 
JONES                VIRGINIA                  46000
                                               42300
                                               39300
JONES                MARSHA                    50000
                                               46000
                                               42700

Example of WRITE Statement

** Example 'WRITEX01': WRITE
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
  2 SALARY (1:3)
END-DEFINE
*
READ (2) VIEWEMP BY NAME STARTING FROM 'JONES'
  WRITE NAME FIRST-NAME SALARY (1:3)
END-READ
END

Output of Program WRITEX01:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:55
 
JONES                VIRGINIA                  46000      42300      39300
JONES                MARSHA                    50000      46000      42700

Column Spacing - SF Parameter and nX Notation

By default, the columns output with a DISPLAY statement are separated from one another by one space.

With the session parameter SF, you can specify the default number of spaces to be inserted between columns output with a DISPLAY statement. You can set the number of spaces to any value from 1 to 30.

The parameter can be specified with a FORMAT statement to apply to the whole report, or with a DISPLAY statement at statement level, but not at element level.

With the nX notation in the DISPLAY statement, you can specify the number of spaces (n) to be inserted between two columns. An nX notation overrides the specification made with the SF parameter.

** Example 'DISPLX04': DISPLAY (with nX)
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 PERSONNEL-ID
  2 NAME
  2 BIRTH
  2 JOB-TITLE
END-DEFINE
*
FORMAT SF=3
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY BIRTH
  DISPLAY PERSONNEL-ID NAME 5X JOB-TITLE
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX04:

The above example program produces the following output, where the first two columns are separated by 3 spaces due to the SF parameter in the FORMAT statement, while the second and third columns are separated by 5 spaces due to the notation 5X in the DISPLAY statement:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
PERSONNEL           NAME                      CURRENT
   ID                                        POSITION
---------   --------------------     -------------------------
 
30020013    GARRET                   TYPIST
30016112    TAILOR                   WAREHOUSEMAN
20017600    PIETSCH                  SECRETARY

The nX notation is also available with the WRITE statement to insert spaces between individual output elements:

WRITE PERSONNEL-ID 5X NAME 3X JOB-TITLE

With the above statement, 5 spaces will be inserted between the fields PERSONNEL-ID and NAME, and 3 spaces between NAME and JOB-TITLE.

Tab Setting - nT Notation

With the nT notation, which is available with the DISPLAY and the WRITE statement, you can specify the position where an output element is to be output.

** Example 'DISPLX05': DISPLAY (with nT)
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
END-DEFINE
*
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY NAME STARTING FROM 'JONES'
  DISPLAY 5T NAME 30T FIRST-NAME
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX05:

The above program produces the following output, where the field NAME is output starting in the 5th position (counted from the left margin of the page), and the field FIRST-NAME starting in the 30th position:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
            NAME                  FIRST-NAME
    --------------------     --------------------
 
    JONES                    VIRGINIA
    JONES                    MARSHA
    JONES                    ROBERT

Line Advance - Slash Notation

With a slash (/) in a DISPLAY or WRITE statement, you cause a line advance.

  • In a DISPLAY statement, a slash causes a line advance between fields and within text.

  • In a WRITE statement, a slash causes a line advance only when placed between fields; within text, it is treated like an ordinary text character.

When placed between fields, the slash must have a blank on either side.

For multiple line advances, you specify multiple slashes.

Example 1 - Line Advance in DISPLAY Statement:

** Example 'DISPLX06': DISPLAY (with slash '/')
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
  2 DEPARTMENT
END-DEFINE
*
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY NAME STARTING FROM 'JONES'
  DISPLAY NAME / FIRST-NAME 'DEPART-/MENT' DEPARTMENT
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX06:

The above DISPLAY statement produces a line advance after each value of the field NAME and within the text DEPART-MENT:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:54
 
        NAME         DEPART-
     FIRST-NAME       MENT
-------------------- -------
 
JONES                SALE
VIRGINIA
JONES                MGMT
MARSHA
JONES                TECH
ROBERT

Example 2 - Line Advance in WRITE Statement:

** Example 'WRITEX02': WRITE (with line advance)
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 VIEWEMP VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
  2 DEPARTMENT
END-DEFINE
*
READ (3) VIEWEMP BY NAME STARTING FROM 'JONES'
  WRITE NAME / FIRST-NAME 'DEPART-/MENT' DEPARTMENT //
END-READ
END

Output of Program WRITEX02:

The above WRITE statement produces a line advance after each value of the field NAME, and a double line advance after each value of the field DEPARTMENT, but none within the text DEPART-/MENT:

Page      1                                                  04-11-11  14:15:55
 
JONES
VIRGINIA             DEPART-/MENT SALE
 
 
JONES
MARSHA               DEPART-/MENT MGMT
 
 
JONES
ROBERT               DEPART-/MENT TECH

Example 3 - Line Advance in DISPLAY and WRITE Statements:

** Example 'DISPLX21': DISPLAY (usage of slash '/' in DISPLAY and WRITE)
************************************************************************
DEFINE DATA LOCAL
1 EMPLOY-VIEW VIEW OF EMPLOYEES
  2 CITY
  2 NAME
  2 FIRST-NAME
  2 ADDRESS-LINE (1)
END-DEFINE
*
WRITE TITLE LEFT JUSTIFIED UNDERLINED
       *TIME
   5X  'PEOPLE LIVING IN SALT LAKE CITY'
   21X 'PAGE:' *PAGE-NUMBER /
   15X 'AS OF' *DAT4E //
*
WRITE TRAILER UNDERLINED 'REGISTER OF' / 'SALT LAKE CITY'
*
READ (2) EMPLOY-VIEW WITH CITY = 'SALT LAKE CITY'
  DISPLAY  NAME /
           FIRST-NAME
           'HOME/CITY' CITY
           'STREET/OR BOX NO.' ADDRESS-LINE (1)
  SKIP 1
END-READ
END

Output of Program DISPLX21:

14:15:54.6     PEOPLE LIVING IN SALT LAKE CITY                     PAGE:      1
               AS OF 11/11/2004


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        NAME                 HOME                STREET
     FIRST-NAME              CITY              OR BOX NO.
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------

ANDERSON             SALT LAKE CITY       3701 S. GEORGE MASON
JENNY

SAMUELSON            SALT LAKE CITY       7610 W. 86TH STREET
MARTIN

                                  REGISTER OF
                                SALT LAKE CITY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further Examples of DISPLAY and WRITE Statements

See the following example programs: