Multiple record cards

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Multiple record cards

This section deals with unusual forms of data file and should be skipped at first reading.

Less frequently, the questionnaire is so short that more than one record can be coded onto a single card. No SERIAL command is required, the cards are read into $1-80 using START DATA (as with single card records), and each record is processed in turn, using the GO TO command to transfer control back to the start of the processing section at the end of each questionnaire. The flow of execution should only take the program through FINISH DATA at the end of the card.

If we have a questionnaire which uses 20 data locations and four are placed on each line then:

start data,

read $1-80,

go out to @process,

d $1-20=$21-40,

go out to @process,

d $1-20=$41-60,

go out to @process,

d $1-20=$61-80,

go out to @process,

goto finish,

@process,

! define from locations 1-20

...

write,

finish data,