Purpose
HEADING – This control enables users to specify a header that appears at the top of each page of a report.
RTITLE – This control enables users to specify a title that appears at the top of each page of a report. Titles specified by the RTITLE command automatically include the date and page number.
HEADING Syntax
| Command | Shorthand |
|---|---|
| HEADING | HD |
- string
- Text for the header.
The string can contain a maximum of 253 characters, including line separator characters, to describe up to 10 lines.
RTITLE Syntax
| Command | Shorthand |
|---|---|
| RTITLE | RT |
- string
- Text for the title.
The text string can contain a maximum of 253 characters, including line separator characters, to describe up to 10 lines.
Usage Notes
The HEADING command and the RTITLE command are alternate versions of the same command. They both specify the top ten lines on each page of a report. If using both commands, the most recent one overrides the earlier one.
RTITLE command use results in automatic inclusion of page numbers and the date in page headers; HEADING command use does not. When using the HEADING command, &PAGE and &DATE substitution values must be included as part of the command argument string to get page numbers and the date included in page headers.
Do not use special characters within the header string as they might be interpreted differently by different output devices. It might be necessary to modify a script that uses special characters if it is necessary to route the output to another device.
If the string has an apostrophe (single quote) character, use the second form of the command (the one with double quotes as delimiters) or double the apostrophe. For example:
.SET HEADING "December's Results"
or
.SET RTITLE 'December''s Results'
If the string does not have an apostrophe, the two forms of the commands are equivalent.
All the subsequent sections apply to both the HEADING and RTITLE commands.
Formatting Headings
Control heading formats using two types of control characters:
| Control Characters | Description |
|---|---|
| Double slashes (//) | Breaks the line and begins a new line. |
| Solid vertical bars (||) | Separates the line into sections. |
Breaking a Line
To break a header line and begin a new line of header text, insert a pair of slashes (//) at the designated break point. BTEQ creates up to nine line breaks (10 header lines maximum) within a HEADING command.
Separating a Line into Sections
To separate a header line into as many as three sections, insert a pair of solid vertical lines at the designated separation points. BTEQ creates only three sections (two pairs of vertical bar separators) for each line of the header.
| Specification | Action | Results |
|---|---|---|
| A header with no separator characters | The header line is unchanged. | The header is centered. |
| One set of separator characters | The line is separated into two sections. | The left section of the line is left-justified, and the right section of the line is centered. |
| Two sets of separator characters | The line is separated into three sections. | The left-most section of the line is left-justified, the middle section of the line is centered, and the right-most section of the line is right-justified. |
If more than two pairs of vertical bar separator characters are specified, BTEQ does the following:
| System Type | Result |
|---|---|
| Mainframe-attached | BTEQ interprets the additional characters as header text and issues a warning that the limit of two pairs of vertical bar separator characters has been exceeded. |
| Workstation-attached | BTEQ truncates any additional text including the extra (||) or (//) from the header. |
Using Substitution Values
- &DATE
- &TIME
- &PAGE
- &n
where:
| Substitution Value | Results |
|---|---|
| &DATE | Is replaced with the current date in YY/MM/DD format. |
| &TIME | Is replaced with the current time in HH:MM format. |
| &PAGE | Is replaced with the current page number. |
| &n | Is replaced with the value in the
nth expression of the returned row that immediately follows the
header. The &n substitution value can be used in the following cases:
For non-exported output within z/OS BTEQ Unicode sessions, this value must comprise only LATIN1 characters. |
Blank Header/Title Lines
Entering a HEADER/RTITLE command with one or more spaces as the title string (for example, .SET RTITLE' ' or .SET RTITLE" "), causes BTEQ to generate a blank title.
Two Apostrophes
Using a HEADING/RTITLE command with two apostrophes or quotation marks with no spaces between them (for example, .SET RTITLE '' or .SET RTITLE ""), causes BTEQ to use as much of the SQL request text that will fit for the title string.
Default Headings and Titles
If the RTITLE command is not used to specify a title, or the HEADING command to specify a header, the default one-line title or header includes the date, as much of the SQL request text that will fit, and the page number, formatted as follows:
&DATE||as much SQL request text as can fit here||Page&PAGE
When the HEADING/RTITLE command is used without specifying arguments, BTEQ sets HEADING/RTITLE to its initial default.
Specifying a Header that is Wider than the Page
If specifying a header string that is wider than the page, BTEQ truncates from the right until the header fits on the page. (A header can be continued from one line to the next by including a dash character (-) as the last nonspace character of the line to be continued.)
When using the HEADING command with the FOLDLINE command, the heading can be shown on the first page.
The HEADING and RTITLE commands are valid in an SQL macro.
The DEFAULTS command resets HEADING and RTITLE setting to its initial default.
Example 1 – HEADING
Omitting all data from a report does not suppress generation of the page headers. In the following examples, OMIT is being used for brevity of results.
database workforce; .set defaults on .set format on .set heading 'Confidential Report' .omit on select * from employee ;
BTEQ Response
*** Query completed. 21 rows found. 12 columns returned. Confidential Report
Example 2 – HEADING
Specifying the argument string for the HEADING command using input line continuation.
database workforce; .set defaults .set format on .set heading 'This is an example - of a continued - heading' .omit on select * from employee ;
BTEQ Response
*** Query completed. 21 rows found. 12 columns returned. This is an example of a continued heading
Example 3 – HEADING
Using a multi-line heading that is also sectioned.
database workforce; .set defaults .set format on .heading '&date||Marketing||Page&Page//Third Quarter//Chicago' .omit on select * from employee ; .set format off .logoff .exit
BTEQ Response
*** Query completed. 21 rows found. 12 columns returned. 90/07/24 Marketing Page 1 Third Quarter Chicago
Example 4 – HEADING instigated by a macro
The HEADING command in an SQL macro appears as follows:
ECHO '.SET HEADING ''&date||Marketing||Page&Page//Third - Quarter//Chicago'' ';
or as:
ECHO '.SET HEADING &date||Marketing||Page&Page// Third - Quarter//Chicago"';
Example 5 – RTITLE
The following example uses Rtitle On as the title string:
database workforce; .set defaults on .set format on .set rtitle 'Rtitle On' select * from department; .set defaults .set format off .logoff .exit
BTEQ Response
*** Query completed. 5 rows found. 4 columns returned. 90/08/01 Rtitle On Page 1 DeptNo DeptName Loc MgrNo ------ -------------- --- ----- 500 Engineering ATL 10012 700 Marketing NYC 10021 300 Exec Office NYC 10018 600 Manufacturing CHI 10007 10 0 Administration NYC 10011