Re: Joining to spool files.

Check out OVRPRTF

>  From:    ron.klein@brctsg.com (Klein Ron)
>  
>  Hi All,
>  
>  We have a need to merge two spool files together and print them as one.  I
>  understand that the S36 had an option to continue or something like that.
>  The two spool files could conceivably be different widths.

I used the CONTINUE statement of OCL when I was programming S36.  What it did 
was you had program-A creating spool file whatever & writing to it, then 
program-B writing to the same spool file.  Yes you could have different 
widths but the whole thing came out in one printing style, like 15 char per 
inch or whatever.  Also, if the 2+ programs had very similar looking output, 
the totals were still by each program.  We used it for the convenience of 
report distribution moving around, not for any internal relationship of the 
data.

However, there was a S/36 technique to copy spool file to data file, in which 
the format of data was well documented & then could be used as input to 
another program.  We did do that occasionally to get at lists of software, 
but the dominant usage was when we had remote sites not interconnected like 
on AS/400 today.  A spool file generated by S/36 was downward compatible with 
S/34 at another site, so we were creating reports on one computer, 
transmitting them over modem & printing them on another computer.  Continuing 
a bunch into the same spool file simplified the volume of transmissions 
needed.

When we were using other than standard 10 char to inch & form size, we had to 
use extra coding in the OCL that converted the spool file entry to a data 
file so that it would come out right at the far end.

>  Does anybody know a good method to merge the files?

Semantics of "Merge" implies something different than merely appending one 
report to the end of another.  I suppose we could intertwine data from 2 
reports so that the combined data is in a coherent sequence with recomputed 
totals, by inputing the 2 reports to a 3rd program to figure out the merge, 
but I do not think that is what you are asking about.  I do have several 
"programs" that do stuff like that concept in which program set-A gathers up 
the data needed in the final report & puts it into work files resequenced as 
input to final report program-B.

I have also been working on several programs that string along data that is 
interrelated & I can "steal" most of the code from our ERP package.
1. Go down BOM & get all components of this manufactured set of 
sub-assemblies.
2. On each component that itself is manufactured, go down routings & tell 
part of the story.
3. On each operation go after what shop orders are currently open & chart how 
they are doing.
End goal is to illuminate where the cost variances are in a complex part & 
where the rates are most off from standards.

Al Macintyre  ©¿©
MIS Manager Green Screen Programmer & Computer Janitor of BPCS 405 CD Rel-02 
running on AS/400 V4R3 http://www.cen-elec.com Central Industries of 
Indiana--->Quality manufacturer of wire harnesses and electrical 
sub-assemblies
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