Project Information
PROBLEM:
Write a program, called lab4.cob using file I/O to output the input
information in report format. The input
file can be accessed or copied from the following location:
/usr/class/cis314/sp05/lab4carin.dat.
You will have a second input file which you will create yourself as
explained below.
Ø
You may have
multiple records for the same car because some of the data may be
different… for example, color, dealership, or cost for the same
make/model.
Ø
Before submitting
your lab, you MUST be sure to list the entire input file location given above
on your select statement. Points will be
deducted if you forget since the program will not be able to find the input
file!
Ø
You do not know
the number of records in the car input file, so you must check for end of file.
INPUT
FILE RECORD LAYOUT for lab2buyerin.dat
You have
already created this file.
§
Your name –
you determine the length and type
§
The date you need
the car by – numeric length 6
§
The maximum
amount you are willing to spend on a car – integer type; you determine
the length!
INPUT
FILE RECORD LAYOUT for lab4carin.dat
It
is possible that the data in this file will change, so don’t base your
program on the exact data values.
However, the format (i.e. types and lengths) of each field will stay
exactly the same. Also, the data in this
file will be grouped by the TYPE field so that the single control break
algorithm can be used. Remember, though,
that the order of the groups will be variable i.e. the order of the groups of
data can change and your program should still work!
§
Dealership
– alphanumeric length 12 (ex. Tansky)
§
Make –
alphanumeric length 10 (ex.
§
Model –
alphanumeric length 10 (ex. Sienna)
§
Type –
values include truck, car, van, sport, suv –
alphabetic length 5
§
Color –
alphanumeric length 10
§
Safety Rating
– numeric length 1
§
Reliability
Rating – numeric length 1
§
Cost –
numeric (integer) length 6
§
Name of sales rep
– alphanumeric length 15
OUTPUT
FILE LAYOUT
The
output file report should look similar to the following with the name lab4out.dat
(again, be sure to use this name so the grader doesn’t have to look up
the name of the output file when grading).
Be sure to copy the way the sample report is indented, centered in
places, and has blank lines - it helps with the readability of the report!
Output File Description:
Ø
Be sure to
include the blank lines as shown above
Ø
The current date
should be left justified and the current time should be right justified on the
first line of the output file over the PAGE HEADING discussed below. The format seen here is exactly what you
should have in your output file (labels, entire year of length 4, colons
between hours and minutes, and minutes and seconds, etc)
Ø
Create your own PAGE
HEADING line to describe the report. It needs
to be centered over the group and column headers.
Ø
Column headers
need to be underlined INDIVIDUALLY. If
you have more than one column heading line, the underline should only be on the
part of the header that is the “bottom” of the column
description. You can underline
the entire length of the column field, if you like (different from above), but
you CANNOT underline the blank spaces in between each column header field!
Ø
The car data
should all line up nicely under the column headers.
Ø
The data should
be edited whenever possible!
Ø
The last line in
the output file should be the “END OF REPORT” line
Discussed in class; there is
no external documentation required for this lab.
When you are finished with
the lab, submit the following files for grading:
See Lab1 for information on
how to use a submit command. Also, note
that programs must be submitted in source code form. For example, if you submit
"lab2.acu" instead of "lab2.cob", you will have, at a
minimum, points deducted equivalent to submitting a day late (20%).
See Lab1 for information
about deleting unnecessary files.