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COBOL Tutorial

COBOL FOOTING Clause

The FOOTING clause represents a sophisticated page layout control mechanism within COBOL's Report Writer facility, serving as the primary specification for defining the starting line position of page footer content and bottom margin management. This clause embodies the principles of comprehensive page structure control by providing precise footer positioning capabilities, enabling professional report formatting standards, and supporting consistent bottom-of-page content placement across multi-page documents while maintaining optimal readability and ensuring proper page utilization in enterprise reporting systems and business documentation environments.

Syntax and Usage

FOOTING Syntax
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RD report-name
    PAGE LIMIT IS integer LINES
    HEADING integer
    FIRST DETAIL integer
    LAST DETAIL integer
    FOOTING integer.
 
01 page-footer TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS FOOTING-LINE.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(50) VALUE 'Footer content'.
Report Writer
Page Control
Footer Management

Comprehensive FOOTING Implementation

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IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. FOOTING-COMPREHENSIVE-DEMO.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
    SELECT SALES-INPUT-FILE
        ASSIGN TO 'SALES.DAT'
        ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
        ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL
        FILE STATUS IS INPUT-FILE-STATUS.
    
    SELECT SALES-REPORT-FILE
        ASSIGN TO 'SALESRPT.RPT'
        ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
        ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL
        FILE STATUS IS REPORT-FILE-STATUS.
 
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD  SALES-INPUT-FILE
    BLOCK CONTAINS 0 RECORDS
    RECORD CONTAINS 120 CHARACTERS.
01  SALES-INPUT-RECORD.
    05  SALE-ID                 PIC 9(8).
    05  SALE-DATE               PIC 9(8).
    05  CUSTOMER-ID             PIC 9(6).
    05  CUSTOMER-NAME           PIC X(30).
    05  PRODUCT-CODE            PIC X(10).
    05  PRODUCT-NAME            PIC X(25).
    05  QUANTITY                PIC 9(5).
    05  UNIT-PRICE              PIC 9(5)V99.
    05  SALE-AMOUNT             PIC 9(7)V99.
    05  SALES-REP               PIC X(20).
    05  FILLER                  PIC X(5).
 
FD  SALES-REPORT-FILE
    BLOCK CONTAINS 0 RECORDS
    RECORD CONTAINS 132 CHARACTERS.
01  SALES-REPORT-RECORD        PIC X(132).
 
REPORT SECTION.
RD  SALES-REPORT
    CONTROLS ARE FINAL
                 SALES-REP
    PAGE LIMIT IS 66 LINES
    HEADING 1
    FIRST DETAIL 8
    LAST DETAIL 55
    FOOTING 60.
 
*> Page Footer starting at FOOTING line 60
01  PAGE-FOOTER TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 60.
        10  COLUMN 1            PIC X(25) VALUE 'CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT'.
        10  COLUMN 40           PIC X(20) VALUE 'SALES DEPARTMENT'.
        10  COLUMN 70           PIC X(10) VALUE 'PAGE TOTAL:'.
        10  COLUMN 85           PIC ZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM SALE-AMOUNT RESET ON PAGE.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 61.
        10  COLUMN 1            PIC X(90) VALUE ALL '-'.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 62.
        10  COLUMN 1            PIC X(15) VALUE 'REPORT TIME:'.
        10  COLUMN 17           PIC X(8) SOURCE IS WS-REPORT-TIME.
        10  COLUMN 40           PIC X(20) VALUE 'CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE'.
        10  COLUMN 70           PIC X(15) VALUE 'LINES ON PAGE:'.
        10  COLUMN 90           PIC ZZ9 SOURCE IS LINE-COUNTER.
 
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  REPORT-VARIABLES.
    05  WS-REPORT-DATE          PIC X(10).
    05  WS-REPORT-TIME          PIC X(8).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCESSING.
    OPEN INPUT SALES-INPUT-FILE
    OPEN OUTPUT SALES-REPORT-FILE
    
    INITIATE SALES-REPORT
    
    PERFORM UNTIL INPUT-EOF
        READ SALES-INPUT-FILE
            AT END
                CONTINUE
            NOT AT END
                GENERATE SALES-DETAIL
        END-READ
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE SALES-REPORT
    
    CLOSE SALES-INPUT-FILE
    CLOSE SALES-REPORT-FILE
    STOP RUN.

Key Features and Benefits

Footer Positioning
  • • Defines footer starting line
  • • Ensures consistent bottom margins
  • • Controls page footer placement
  • • Maintains professional appearance
Page Management
  • • Coordinates with LAST DETAIL
  • • Manages footer content area
  • • Supports page totals and summaries
  • • Handles continuation indicators

Interactive Tutorial

Hands-On Exercise: Footer Design
Practice using FOOTING for effective page footer management

Exercise 1: Basic Footer Layout

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RD INVOICE-REPORT
    PAGE LIMIT IS 66 LINES
    HEADING 1
    FIRST DETAIL 8
    LAST DETAIL 58
    FOOTING 62.
 
01 INVOICE-FOOTER TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 62.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(20) VALUE 'Invoice continued...'.
        10 COLUMN 50 PIC X(5) VALUE 'Page:'.
        10 COLUMN 56 PIC ZZ9 SOURCE IS PAGE-COUNTER.

Exercise 2: Multi-Line Footer

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01 DETAILED-FOOTER TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 60.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(30) VALUE 'Confidential - Internal Use'.
        10 COLUMN 60 PIC X(15) VALUE 'Page Total: $'.
        10 COLUMN 75 PIC ZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM AMOUNT RESET ON PAGE.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 61.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(80) VALUE ALL '-'.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 62.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(20) VALUE 'Generated: '.
        10 COLUMN 21 PIC X(19) SOURCE IS CURRENT-DATE-TIME.

Best Practices

Knowledge Check

Test Your Understanding

Question 1: Footer Positioning

With PAGE LIMIT 66, LAST DETAIL 58, what's the optimal FOOTING setting?

Answer: FOOTING 62 provides 3 lines buffer after LAST DETAIL and 4 lines for footer content, ensuring proper spacing and adequate footer area.

Question 2: Content Planning

What essential information should be included in page footers?

Answer: Page numbers, report date/time, confidentiality notices, page totals, and continuation indicators are essential footer elements for professional reports.

Question 3: Error Prevention

How do you prevent footer content from overlapping with detail lines?

Answer: Ensure FOOTING is set higher than LAST DETAIL with adequate buffer space (2-3 lines minimum). Test with maximum data volumes to verify spacing.

Common Patterns

Standard Business Footer
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01 BUSINESS-FOOTER TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 62.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(30) 
           VALUE 'Confidential - Internal Use Only'.
        10 COLUMN 50 PIC X(5) VALUE 'Page:'.
        10 COLUMN 56 PIC ZZ9 SOURCE IS PAGE-COUNTER.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 63.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(80) VALUE ALL '-'.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 64.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(20) VALUE 'Generated: '.
        10 COLUMN 21 PIC X(19) SOURCE IS CURRENT-DATE-TIME.
Financial Report Footer
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01 FINANCIAL-FOOTER TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 60.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(25) VALUE 'Financial Report - '.
        10 COLUMN 26 PIC X(10) SOURCE IS REPORT-DATE.
        10 COLUMN 70 PIC X(15) VALUE 'Page Total: $'.
        10 COLUMN 85 PIC ZZ,ZZZ,ZZ9.99 
           SUM AMOUNT RESET ON PAGE.
    05 LINE NUMBER IS 61.
        10 COLUMN 1 PIC X(90) VALUE ALL '='.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

Report Writer

COBOL Report Writer facility and page control mechanisms

Page Layout

Report page structure and formatting control

Footer Management

Report footer design and content control