Coding the output procedure
To select, edit, or otherwise change sorted records before
writing them from the sort work file into another file, use the OUTPUT
PROCEDURE
phrase of the format
1 SORT
statement.
Each output procedure must be contained in either a section or a paragraph. An output procedure must include both of the following elements:
- At least
one
RETURN
statement or oneRETURN
statement with theINTO
phrase - Any statements necessary
to process the records that are made
available, one at a time, by the
RETURN
statement
The RETURN
statement makes each sorted
record available to the output procedure. (The RETURN
statement
for a sort file is similar to a READ
statement for
an input file.)
You can use the AT END
and END-RETURN
phrases
with the RETURN
statement. The imperative statements
in the AT END
phrase are performed after all the
records have been returned from the sort file. The END-RETURN
explicit
scope terminator delimits the scope of the RETURN
statement.
If you
use RETURN INTO
instead of RETURN
,
the records will be returned to WORKING-STORAGE
, LOCAL-STORAGE
,
or to an output area.
DFSORT coding: If you use
DFSORT and
a RETURN
statement does not encounter an AT
END
condition before a COBOL program finishes running, the format 1 SORT
statement
could end abnormally with DFSORT message IEC025A. To avoid this situation,
be sure to code the RETURN
statement with the AT
END
phrase. In addition, ensure that the RETURN
statement
is executed until the AT END
condition is encountered.
The AT END
condition occurs after the last record
is returned to the program from the sort work file and a subsequent RETURN
statement
is executed.
Example: coding the output procedure when using DFSORT
Restrictions on input and output procedures
RETURN statement (Enterprise COBOL for z/OS® Language Reference)