To use a printer file in an ILE COBOL program, you must name the printer file through a file control entry in the FILE-CONTROL paragraph of the Environment Division. See the WebSphere Development Studio: ILE COBOL Reference for a full description of the FILE-CONTROL paragraph. You can use more than one printer file in an ILE COBOL program but each printer file must have a unique name.
Printer files can be program-described files or externally-described files.
You name a program-described printer file in the FILE-CONTROL paragraph as follows:
FILE-CONTROL. SELECT printer-file-name ASSIGN TO PRINTER-printer_device_name ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL.
You name an externally described printer file in the FILE-CONTROL paragraph as follows:
FILE-CONTROL. SELECT printer-file-name ASSIGN TO FORMATFILE-printer_device_name ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL.
You use the SELECT clause to choose a file. This file must be identified by a FD entry in the Data Division.
You use the ASSIGN clause to associate the printer file with a printer device. You must specify a device type of PRINTER in the ASSIGN clause to use a program-described printer file. To use an externally-described printer file, you must specify a device type of FORMATFILE in the ASSIGN clause.
Use ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL in the file control entry when you name a printer file.
(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 1992, 2005. All Rights Reserved.