Introduction

Introduction

The Report Definition Facility (RDF) automates the process of generating reports. A CA Ideal program requires only a PRODUCE statement to generate the output. RDF controls the report format, including headings, footings, and data format.

When you use RDF to generate a report, the PRODUCE statement in your program passes the data to RDF, which writes the data to an output file named for the report. CA Ideal specifically uses the data for the report. If a DD statement did not specify a filename, AUXPRINT is used. This file accumulates the output as the program progresses. When the program terminates or the report is released, CA Ideal takes the output data and, based on the RDF specifications, formats the report. This formatting includes sorting (in z/OS and VSE batch only), pagination, annotated totals, column headings, and so forth. The completed report is automatically sent to the printer.