Writing a Report › Types of Reporting Commands › Global Commands

Global Commands

Global commands set values that stay in effect for all reports that are printed in one run. For example, if you use the LINECOUNT command to tell the Report Writer how many lines are on one page, then that number of lines applies to all reports in that run.

You can insert global commands anywhere among the report commands. With the exception of the GLOBAL command, global commands affect all reports in the run without regard to placement. The GLOBAL command affects only reports that come after it.

The following are the history reporting global commands:

CARDLEN

Sets the number of characters in each line the Report Writer reads. CARDLEN is useful when you want the Report Writer to ignore sequence numbers.

COUNT

Specifies the number of input records the Report Writer is to read. This command is useful for testing new reports.

DEFINE

Creates new ID options and variables.

GLOBAL

Makes a command apply to all subsequent reports. This command helps you avoid duplicating code when you create multiple reports.

GOTO

Causes the Report Writer to ignore all subsequent commands until the specified label is read.

IF

Creates new identifiers based on other identifiers, or resets existing identifiers.

INPUT

Defines the input files to use for the report.

LINECOUNT

Specifies the number of lines to print per page of the report.

OPTION

Specifies global report options, such as:

• How dates, null identifiers, and zero values are represented
• Whether summary lines, storage statistics, or dumps are produced
• Whether messages are printed

RUN

Prints the reports.