The X edit descriptor is a positional specifier. It takes the following form:
nX
The term n specifies how many character positions are passed over. The value of n must be greater than or equal to one.
In an input statement, the X edit descriptor specifies that the next n characters in the input record are skipped.
In an output statement, the X edit descriptor tabs right n spaces. It does not write over anything already written on the same record; for example (the symbol ^ represents a nonprinting space character):
WRITE (6,90) NPAGE 90 FORMAT ('1PAGE NUMBER^ ',I2,16X,'GRAPHIC^ ANALYSIS,^ CONT.')
The preceding WRITE statement prints a record similar to the following output:
PAGE NUMBER nn GRAPHIC ANALYSIS, CONT.
The term nn is the current value of the variable NPAGE. The numeral 1 in the first character constant is not printed; it is used to advance the printer paper to the top of a new page.
A trailing X format on a record does not write any characters unless it is followed by another field that does; for example:
WRITE (6,99) K 99 FORMAT ('^ K=',I6,5X)
The preceding example writes a record of only 9 characters. To cause
n trailing blanks to be written at the end of a record, use the
format n('^')
.
For details on printer carriage control, see Section 8.6.