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COBOL ADVANCING PAGE Clause

The ADVANCING PAGE clause is used in WRITE statements to control page breaks and form feeds.

Overview

The ADVANCING PAGE clause provides control over page formatting in output operations. It allows you to force page breaks and advance to the next page when writing output, which is essential for creating well-formatted reports and documents.

This clause is particularly useful for controlling the layout of printed output and ensuring that content is properly organized across multiple pages.

Syntax

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WRITE record-name ADVANCING PAGE

Basic syntax for the ADVANCING PAGE clause. The record-name specifies what to write, and ADVANCING PAGE forces a page break.

Parameters

  • record-name: The record or data to be written to output
  • ADVANCING PAGE: Clause that forces a page break and advances to the next page

Practical Examples

Example 1: Basic Page Break

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. ADVANCING-PAGE-EXAMPLE.
       
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  PAGE-HEADER         PIC X(80) VALUE "PAGE HEADER - REPORT TITLE".
       01  DATA-LINE           PIC X(80) VALUE "This is a data line in the report".
       01  PAGE-FOOTER         PIC X(80) VALUE "PAGE FOOTER - END OF PAGE".
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       MAIN-PROCESS.
           * Write page header
           WRITE PAGE-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           
           * Write some data lines
           WRITE DATA-LINE ADVANCING 1 LINE
           WRITE DATA-LINE ADVANCING 1 LINE
           WRITE DATA-LINE ADVANCING 1 LINE
           
           * Force another page break
           WRITE PAGE-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           
           * Write more data
           WRITE DATA-LINE ADVANCING 1 LINE
           WRITE PAGE-FOOTER ADVANCING 1 LINE
           
           STOP RUN.

This example demonstrates basic page break usage. The ADVANCING PAGE clause forces page breaks when writing page headers, creating a new page for each section of the report.

Example 2: Report with Multiple Pages

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. MULTI-PAGE-REPORT.
       
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  REPORT-HEADER       PIC X(80) VALUE "SALES REPORT - QUARTERLY SUMMARY".
       01  SECTION-HEADER      PIC X(80) VALUE "SECTION: PRODUCT SALES".
       01  DATA-RECORD         PIC X(80).
       01  PAGE-NUMBER         PIC 9(3) VALUE 1.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       GENERATE-REPORT.
           * Start first page
           WRITE REPORT-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           
           * Write section header
           WRITE SECTION-HEADER ADVANCING 2 LINES
           
           * Simulate writing data records
           PERFORM WRITE-DATA-RECORDS
           
           * Start new page for next section
           ADD 1 TO PAGE-NUMBER
           WRITE REPORT-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           WRITE SECTION-HEADER ADVANCING 2 LINES
           
           STOP RUN.
       
       WRITE-DATA-RECORDS.
           MOVE "Product A - Sales: $1000" TO DATA-RECORD
           WRITE DATA-RECORD ADVANCING 1 LINE
           MOVE "Product B - Sales: $1500" TO DATA-RECORD
           WRITE DATA-RECORD ADVANCING 1 LINE
           MOVE "Product C - Sales: $2000" TO DATA-RECORD
           WRITE DATA-RECORD ADVANCING 1 LINE.

This example shows how to create a multi-page report using ADVANCING PAGE. Each major section starts on a new page, providing clear separation between different parts of the report.

Example 3: Formatted Document Output

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. FORMATTED-DOCUMENT.
       
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  DOCUMENT-TITLE      PIC X(80) VALUE "COMPANY POLICY DOCUMENT".
       01  CHAPTER-HEADER      PIC X(80) VALUE "CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION".
       01  PARAGRAPH-TEXT      PIC X(80) VALUE "This is the first paragraph of the document.".
       01  SECTION-BREAK       PIC X(80) VALUE "----------------------------------------".
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       CREATE-DOCUMENT.
           * Document title page
           WRITE DOCUMENT-TITLE ADVANCING PAGE
           WRITE SECTION-BREAK ADVANCING 2 LINES
           
           * Chapter 1
           WRITE CHAPTER-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           WRITE PARAGRAPH-TEXT ADVANCING 2 LINES
           WRITE PARAGRAPH-TEXT ADVANCING 2 LINES
           
           * Chapter 2 (new page)
           MOVE "CHAPTER 2: MAIN CONTENT" TO CHAPTER-HEADER
           WRITE CHAPTER-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           WRITE PARAGRAPH-TEXT ADVANCING 2 LINES
           
           STOP RUN.

This example demonstrates creating a formatted document with proper page breaks. Each chapter starts on a new page, and the document title has its own dedicated page.

Example 4: Conditional Page Breaks

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. CONDITIONAL-PAGE-BREAKS.
       
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  LINE-COUNT          PIC 9(3) VALUE 0.
       01  MAX-LINES-PER-PAGE  PIC 9(3) VALUE 60.
       01  DATA-LINE           PIC X(80) VALUE "This is a data line in the report".
       01  PAGE-HEADER         PIC X(80) VALUE "REPORT HEADER - PAGE ".
       01  PAGE-NUMBER         PIC 9(3) VALUE 1.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       PROCESS-REPORT.
           * Write initial page header
           WRITE PAGE-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
           ADD 1 TO LINE-COUNT
           
           * Process data with conditional page breaks
           PERFORM UNTIL LINE-COUNT >= 200
               WRITE DATA-LINE ADVANCING 1 LINE
               ADD 1 TO LINE-COUNT
               
               * Check if page break is needed
               IF LINE-COUNT >= MAX-LINES-PER-PAGE
                   ADD 1 TO PAGE-NUMBER
                   WRITE PAGE-HEADER ADVANCING PAGE
                   MOVE 1 TO LINE-COUNT
               END-IF
           END-PERFORM
           
           STOP RUN.

This example shows conditional page breaks based on line count. The program tracks the number of lines written and forces a page break when the maximum lines per page is reached.

Best Practices and Considerations

Best Practices

  • Use ADVANCING PAGE for major section breaks in reports
  • Plan page layout and line counts carefully
  • Use consistent page formatting throughout reports
  • Consider printer and output device capabilities
  • Test page breaks with actual output devices

Considerations

  • Output device compatibility and form feed handling
  • Page size and line count limitations
  • Performance implications of frequent page breaks
  • Integration with other formatting options
  • Cross-platform output consistency

Test Your Knowledge

1. What is the primary purpose of the ADVANCING PAGE clause in COBOL?

  • To advance program execution
  • To control page breaks and form feeds in output
  • To advance file pointers
  • To advance memory allocation

2. In which statement is the ADVANCING PAGE clause most commonly used?

  • READ statement
  • WRITE statement
  • PERFORM statement
  • DISPLAY statement

3. What is the relationship between ADVANCING PAGE and output formatting?

  • They are unrelated
  • ADVANCING PAGE controls output page formatting
  • Output formatting enables ADVANCING PAGE
  • They are the same thing

4. When should you use the ADVANCING PAGE clause?

  • Only for file operations
  • When you need to control page breaks in formatted output
  • Only for error conditions
  • Only for display purposes

5. What happens when an ADVANCING PAGE clause is executed?

  • The program stops
  • A page break is forced and output advances to the next page
  • All files are closed
  • Memory is freed

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

WRITE Statement

Writing records to output files

ADVANCING Clause

General line advancement control

Report Formatting

Report formatting and layout

Output Control

Controlling output formatting

File Operations

File input/output operations

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