Commands › COUNT Command—Define Number of Records

COUNT Command—Define Number of Records

The COUNT command is a global command that defines a maximum number of input records to read for a report. After the specified number of records are read, an end-of-file condition is forced.

Entering COUNT once sets the maximum number of input records to read for each report in the run. You can use this command to experiment with new reports that can generate more output than you want.

If a FROM command is specified, the counting of records begins with the first record meeting the earliest time specified in the FROM command. Otherwise, the counting of records begins with the first record read.

This command has the following syntax:

COUNT nnnnnn [SELECTED]

nnnnnn

Provides the maximum number of records to read.

SELECTED

Counts only records that pass at least one selection criterion when determining if nnnnnn records have been read.

Example: Count Command

The following command specifies that the Report Writer is to stop reading records after reading 50 records that meet any selection criterion:

COUNT 50 SELECTED