The metasyntax shown below is the notational convention used to represent commands. The symbols used and their meanings are as follows:
UPPERCASE LETTERS
Mandatory string which the user must employ to select a particular function.
lowercase letters
String identifying a variable, in the place of which the user can insert any of the permissible operand values.
lowercase italics
Operand names in the continuous text of the manual appear in lowercase italics.
{ alternative | ... | alternative }
Alternatives; one of these alternatives must be picked.
[optional]
Specifications enclosed in square brackets indicate optional entries.
In the case of AID command names, only the entire part in square brackets can be omitted; any other abbreviations cause a syntactical error.
[...]
Reproducibility of an optional syntactical unit. If a delimiter, e.g. a comma, must be inserted before any repeated unit, it is shown before the periods.
{...}
Reproducibility of a syntactical unit which must be specified at least once. If a delimiter, e.g. a comma, must be inserted, it is shown before the periods.
Underscoring
Underscoring designates the default value which AID inserts if the user does not specify a value for the operand.
● A bullet (period in bold print) delimits qualifications, stands for a prequalification (see also the %QUALIFY statement), is the operator for a byte offset or part of the execution counter or subcommand name. The bullet is entered from the keyboard using the key for a normal period. It is actually a normal period, but here it is shown in bold to make it stand out better.