Home Some of Spectrum Writer's Main Features:

• control statements use an easy, free format, English-like syntax that's easily learned by non-technical users
• allows long, user-friendly field names (unlike some report writers that restrict you to cryptic 8-byte names)
• you can easily combine data from flat files, VSAM files and DB2 tables
• produce multiple reports with a single pass of the input file(s)
• use your existing COBOL or Assembler record layouts instead of creating a data dictionary. Or, use Spectrum Writer's simple data dictionary for added functionality.
• no data definition required for DB2 tables -- Spectrum Writer accesses the definition from your DB2 system
• produces efficient internal machine code that is easy on your CPU
• formats output files into many standard PC formats, so that mainframe data can be easily imported into PC spreadsheet, database, word processing and presentation programs
• produces output files for mainframe or Unix applications
• automatically produces HTML-formatted Web reports
• report lines are not limited to 132 characters. Spectrum Writer can format a report as wide as your laser printer will support.
• automatically prints bar graphs
• ability to print full-page forms
• ability to skip to a new sheet of paper at control breaks (not just the next "page")
• has a logical default for every aspect of the report, from the report titles, to how to format numeric and date fields, to the Grand Total line
• allows complete control over formatting of numeric fields, including handling of special cases like telephone numbers, social security numbers, etc.
• lets you format dates in any of over 40 different ways
• allows complete control over report titles, column headings, and footnotes
• has a "forgiving" error philosophy that results in at least a partial report almost every try
• has thorough, clear documentation, including a User's Guide in non-technical language for end-users
• validity-checks numeric data before processing it, so that no S0C7 abends occur
• ability to display file data in hexadecimal format, for analyzing invalid data
• converts fields from ASCII to EBCDIC and vice verse
• special features for speedy report development, such as limiting the number of records processed, or the number of report lines printed
• supports full "boolean logic" (the use of AND, OR and NOT) in conditional expressions
• ability to scan free format fields, to look for a certain text anywhere within the field
• comparisons and computations are allowed between any numeric fields, regardless of their differing data type or decimal precision in the input file
• comparisons are allowed between any date fields, regardless of their differing formats in the input file
• supports dates with 2-digit or 4-digit years
• supports windowing to handle 2-digit years after the year 2000
• lets you create your own new fields, optionally assigning different values depending on one or more conditions
• supports every imaginable type of mainframe data, including over 30 kinds of date fields, and over 20 kinds of time fields
• full mathematical calculations are supported when creating new fields, including the use of many built-in functions
• supports full range of functions to manipulate string data, including powerful parsing features
• "compress" formatting feature lets you, for example, compress separate city, state and ZIP fields into a normal address line format
• lets you use data from existing mainframe reports (rather than mainframe files) in PC programs
• handles complicated record layouts, including variably located fields, fields located by pointer or pointer expressions, etc.
• supports records that contain arrays with varying number of entries
• lets you specify your own spreadsheet column headings, or use defaults
• easily summarizes data
• automatically computes statistics (such as total, average, maximum, minimum)
• allows an unlimited number of input files in a single run
• allows an unlimited number of control breaks
• allows an unlimited number of print lines per input record
• allows complete customization of control breaks
• allows complete customization of Grand Totals at end of report
• built-in fields provide the system date, time, jobname, etc.
• can limit input file processing to a certain key range, to eliminate unnecessary I/O
• user exit interfaces for any special handling required at the field or record level
• provides end of job statistics, such as how many records read from each input file, and how many records included in the report