Appendix B. Data Description Specifications (DDS) formatting

DDS formatting within the printer file is the standard OS/400 interface to printed output in the same manner that DDS is the interface for external database files. DDS can be used for SCS, IPDS, and AFP output. With host print transform, this can be extended to ASCII formats). Printer file DDS contains support for all the elements in a standard document including overlays, images, graphics, barcoding, lines, boxes, and fonts. Printer file DDS is covered in detail in OS/400 Printer Device Programming V4R2, SC41-5713. This appendix provides a couple of examples to illustrate how documents can be formatted with DDS.

The quality of the illustrations in this appendix is not representative of the high quality output that can be produced on the AS/400 system, but is a function of the processes used to produce this publication.