What is GENERATE in COBOL Report Writer?

GENERATE is a statement in COBOL Report Writer that produces report output by processing report groups. It automatically formats and writes report lines according to the report description, handling page breaks, control breaks, and line spacing.

How do I use GENERATE for report output?

Use GENERATE followed by a report group name to produce output: GENERATE detail-group-name or GENERATE report-name. The Report Writer automatically handles formatting, totals, and page management based on your report definition.

What's the difference between GENERATE and WRITE?

GENERATE is used with Report Writer and automatically handles report formatting, totals, page breaks, and control breaks. WRITE is used for direct file output with manual control over formatting and positioning.

MainframeMaster

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL GENERATE Statement

The GENERATE statement represents a sophisticated automated report output mechanism within COBOL's Report Writer facility, serving as the primary command for producing formatted report content through intelligent data presentation and automatic layout management. This statement embodies the principles of declarative reporting by providing comprehensive output generation capabilities that automatically handle page formatting, control break processing, summary calculations, and line positioning while maintaining consistent report structure and ensuring professional presentation standards in enterprise reporting environments that require reliable document generation and business intelligence output capabilities.

Syntax and Usage

GENERATE Statement Syntax

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
GENERATE report-group-name
GENERATE report-name
 
*> Examples:
GENERATE EMPLOYEE-DETAIL
GENERATE DEPARTMENT-SUMMARY
GENERATE PAYROLL-REPORT

Report Writer

Output Control

Automated Generation

Basic GENERATE Examples

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. GENERATE-EXAMPLES.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
    SELECT EMPLOYEE-FILE
        ASSIGN TO 'EMPLOYEES.DAT'
        ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
        ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL
        FILE STATUS IS INPUT-FILE-STATUS.
    
    SELECT REPORT-FILE
        ASSIGN TO 'EMPRPT.RPT'
        ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
        ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL
        FILE STATUS IS REPORT-FILE-STATUS.
 
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD  EMPLOYEE-FILE
    RECORD CONTAINS 100 CHARACTERS.
01  EMPLOYEE-RECORD.
    05  EMP-ID              PIC 9(6).
    05  EMP-NAME            PIC X(30).
    05  EMP-DEPARTMENT      PIC X(15).
    05  EMP-SALARY          PIC 9(7)V99.
    05  EMP-HIRE-DATE       PIC 9(8).
    05  FILLER              PIC X(32).
 
FD  REPORT-FILE
    RECORD CONTAINS 132 CHARACTERS.
01  REPORT-RECORD           PIC X(132).
 
REPORT SECTION.
RD  EMPLOYEE-REPORT
    CONTROLS ARE FINAL
                 EMP-DEPARTMENT
    PAGE LIMIT IS 66 LINES
    HEADING 1
    FIRST DETAIL 8
    LAST DETAIL 58
    FOOTING 62.
 
01  REPORT-HEADER TYPE IS REPORT HEADING.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 1.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC X(30) VALUE 'EMPLOYEE SALARY REPORT'.
        10  COLUMN 50       PIC X(5) VALUE 'PAGE:'.
        10  COLUMN 56       PIC ZZ9 SOURCE IS PAGE-COUNTER.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 3.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC X(80) VALUE ALL '='.
 
01  PAGE-HEADER TYPE IS PAGE HEADING.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 5.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC X(6) VALUE 'EMP ID'.
        10  COLUMN 10       PIC X(20) VALUE 'EMPLOYEE NAME'.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) VALUE 'DEPARTMENT'.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC X(10) VALUE 'SALARY'.
        10  COLUMN 70       PIC X(10) VALUE 'HIRE DATE'.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS 6.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC X(80) VALUE ALL '-'.
 
01  EMPLOYEE-DETAIL TYPE IS DETAIL.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC 9(6) SOURCE IS EMP-ID.
        10  COLUMN 10       PIC X(20) SOURCE IS EMP-NAME.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) SOURCE IS EMP-DEPARTMENT.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SOURCE IS EMP-SALARY.
        10  COLUMN 70       PIC 99/99/9999 SOURCE IS EMP-HIRE-DATE.
 
01  DEPT-FOOTER TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING EMP-DEPARTMENT.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 2.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) VALUE 'DEPT TOTAL:'.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM EMP-SALARY.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) VALUE 'DEPT COUNT:'.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9 COUNT EMP-SALARY.
 
01  FINAL-FOOTER TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING FINAL.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 3.
        10  COLUMN 1        PIC X(15) VALUE 'GRAND TOTALS:'.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) VALUE 'TOTAL PAYROLL:'.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM EMP-SALARY.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC X(15) VALUE 'TOTAL EMPLOYEES:'.
        10  COLUMN 55       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9 COUNT EMP-SALARY.
 
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  FILE-STATUS-FIELDS.
    05  INPUT-FILE-STATUS   PIC XX.
        88  INPUT-SUCCESS   VALUE '00'.
        88  INPUT-EOF       VALUE '10'.
    05  REPORT-FILE-STATUS  PIC XX.
        88  REPORT-SUCCESS  VALUE '00'.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCESSING.
    OPEN INPUT EMPLOYEE-FILE
    OPEN OUTPUT REPORT-FILE
    
    INITIATE EMPLOYEE-REPORT
    
    READ EMPLOYEE-FILE
        AT END
            SET INPUT-EOF TO TRUE
    END-READ
    
    PERFORM UNTIL INPUT-EOF
        GENERATE EMPLOYEE-DETAIL
        READ EMPLOYEE-FILE
            AT END
                SET INPUT-EOF TO TRUE
        END-READ
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE EMPLOYEE-REPORT
    
    CLOSE EMPLOYEE-FILE
    CLOSE REPORT-FILE
    STOP RUN.

Key Features and Benefits

Automated Processing

• Automatic page formatting
• Control break processing
• Summary calculations
• Line spacing management

Report Management

• Page break handling
• Header and footer control
• Data presentation formatting
• Professional output quality

Interactive Tutorial

Hands-On Exercise: Report Generation

Practice using GENERATE for different report scenarios

Exercise 1: Simple Detail Report

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    INITIATE SALES-REPORT
    
    PERFORM UNTIL END-OF-FILE
        READ SALES-FILE
            AT END
                SET END-OF-FILE TO TRUE
            NOT AT END
                GENERATE SALES-DETAIL
        END-READ
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE SALES-REPORT.

Exercise 2: Summary Report

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    INITIATE SUMMARY-REPORT
    
    *> Generate summary lines only
    PERFORM VARYING DEPT-CODE FROM 1 BY 1 
        UNTIL DEPT-CODE > MAX-DEPARTMENTS
        MOVE DEPT-CODE TO SUMMARY-DEPT-CODE
        GENERATE DEPARTMENT-SUMMARY
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE SUMMARY-REPORT.

Advanced GENERATE Patterns

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. ADVANCED-GENERATE.
 
DATA DIVISION.
REPORT SECTION.
RD  MULTI-LEVEL-REPORT
    CONTROLS ARE FINAL
                 REGION-CODE
                 DISTRICT-CODE
                 STORE-CODE
    PAGE LIMIT IS 66 LINES
    HEADING 1
    FIRST DETAIL 10
    LAST DETAIL 55
    FOOTING 60.
 
*> Multiple control break levels
01  STORE-DETAIL TYPE IS DETAIL.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 5        PIC X(10) SOURCE IS STORE-NAME.
        10  COLUMN 20       PIC ZZ,ZZ9.99 SOURCE IS DAILY-SALES.
        10  COLUMN 35       PIC ZZ9 SOURCE IS TRANSACTION-COUNT.
 
01  STORE-TOTAL TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING STORE-CODE.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 1.
        10  COLUMN 5        PIC X(15) VALUE 'Store Total:'.
        10  COLUMN 20       PIC ZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM DAILY-SALES.
 
01  DISTRICT-TOTAL TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING DISTRICT-CODE.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 2.
        10  COLUMN 5        PIC X(15) VALUE 'District Total:'.
        10  COLUMN 20       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM DAILY-SALES.
 
01  REGION-TOTAL TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING REGION-CODE.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 2.
        10  COLUMN 5        PIC X(15) VALUE 'Region Total:'.
        10  COLUMN 20       PIC ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM DAILY-SALES.
 
01  GRAND-TOTAL TYPE IS CONTROL FOOTING FINAL.
    05  LINE NUMBER IS PLUS 3.
        10  COLUMN 5        PIC X(15) VALUE 'Grand Total:'.
        10  COLUMN 20       PIC Z,ZZZ,ZZ9.99 SUM DAILY-SALES.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
ADVANCED-PROCESSING.
    INITIATE MULTI-LEVEL-REPORT
    
    PERFORM UNTIL END-OF-INPUT
        READ SALES-INPUT-FILE
            AT END
                SET END-OF-INPUT TO TRUE
            NOT AT END
                *> Generate detail and automatic control breaks
                GENERATE STORE-DETAIL
        END-READ
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE MULTI-LEVEL-REPORT
    STOP RUN.

Best Practices

Knowledge Check

Test Your Understanding

Question 1: Basic Usage

What must you do before using GENERATE statements?

Answer: You must INITIATE the report before using GENERATE statements. This initializes the Report Writer and prepares the report for output generation.

Question 2: Control Breaks

How does GENERATE handle control breaks automatically?

Answer: GENERATE automatically detects control field changes and produces appropriate control footing groups before generating the current detail line, handling totals and summaries automatically.

Question 3: Report Completion

What statement finalizes report generation?

Answer: TERMINATE report-name finalizes report generation, produces final control footings, and completes the report output process.

Common Patterns

Detail Report Pattern

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    OPEN INPUT DATA-FILE
    OPEN OUTPUT REPORT-FILE
    
    INITIATE DETAIL-REPORT
    
    PERFORM UNTIL END-OF-FILE
        READ DATA-FILE
            AT END SET END-OF-FILE TO TRUE
            NOT AT END GENERATE DETAIL-LINE
        END-READ
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE DETAIL-REPORT
    
    CLOSE DATA-FILE REPORT-FILE.

Summary Report Pattern

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    INITIATE SUMMARY-REPORT
    
    *> Process aggregated data
    PERFORM VARYING CATEGORY FROM 1 BY 1
        UNTIL CATEGORY > MAX-CATEGORIES
        
        MOVE CATEGORY-TOTALS(CATEGORY) TO SUMMARY-AMOUNT
        GENERATE SUMMARY-LINE
    END-PERFORM
    
    TERMINATE SUMMARY-REPORT.

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL GENERATE Statement

Syntax and Usage

Basic GENERATE Examples

Key Features and Benefits

Interactive Tutorial

Exercise 1: Simple Detail Report

Exercise 2: Summary Report

Advanced GENERATE Patterns

Best Practices

Knowledge Check

Question 1: Basic Usage

Question 2: Control Breaks

Question 3: Report Completion

Common Patterns

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

Report Writer

Report Groups

Control Breaks

Related Pages

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL GENERATE Statement

Syntax and Usage

Basic GENERATE Examples

Key Features and Benefits

Interactive Tutorial

Exercise 1: Simple Detail Report

Exercise 2: Summary Report

Advanced GENERATE Patterns

Best Practices

Report Design

Data Flow Management

Error Handling

Knowledge Check

Question 1: Basic Usage

Question 2: Control Breaks

Question 3: Report Completion

Common Patterns

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use GENERATE with regular file processing?

How does GENERATE handle page breaks?

What happens if I GENERATE the same group multiple times?

Can I suppress certain report groups conditionally?

Related Concepts

Report Writer

Report Groups

Control Breaks

Related Pages