The following should be noted when entering commands and statements:
SDF interprets inputs in accordance with the standard code table EBCDIC.DF.03 (e.g. uppercase/lowercase conversion).
XHCS1 permits the use of extended character sets (CCS, Coded Character Set). The coding of dollar sign ($), number sign (#), commercial at (@), exclamation mark (!), circumflex (^), parentheses and brackets, the greater than and smaller than signs, asterisk (*), slash (/), colon, comma, semicolon, apostrophe and quotation mark (") in an extended character set must comply with the coding in the standard code table. SDF interprets additional characters of an extended character set only within the data types <c-string> and <text>, i.e. uppercase/lowercase conversion makes use of an XHCS-supplied code table for that extended character set. SDF rejects all additional characters used within any of the other data types and reports a syntax error.The XHCS (eXtended Host Code Support) subsystem supports 8-bit code processing.The following distinctions are made when using an extended character set:
Input at the data display terminal: The CCS from the user entry is used for command input, provided 8-bit mode has been activated with the command MODIFY-TERMINAL-OPTIONS. For statement input, the CCS specified in the relevant macro call (CMDRST or RDSTMT, CMDTST or TRSTMT, or CMDCST or CORSTMT) is used. If no CCS has been specified, the same applies as for command input.
Input from a file or PLAM library member: For command input, the CCS of the input file is used, or the CCS of the PLAM library member, provided SYSDTA has been assigned with the ASSIGN-SYSDTA command. For statement input, the CCS specified in the relevant macro call must be identical with the CCS for SYSDTA inputs. The statement will be rejected if the two CCS are not identical. During a procedure interrupt, the CCS selected for input at the data display terminal is used.
Input from an S variable: If SYSDTA is assigned to a compound S variable, the CCS selected for input at the data display terminal is used in dialog mode. The CCS EDF03IRV is used in batch mode.
The macro calls CMD and TRCMD do not support extended character sets.
The first character of a command input is the slash “/”; a statement is preceded by two slashes “//”. In the event of input at the display terminal, the slash(es) appear(s) automatically as a system prompt. In the event of input from a procedure file, the slash(es) must be included in the input records.
A label may be placed between slash and command name. They identify the command line as a branch destination within procedures. At least one blank must separate the label from the command name. Labels have different formats for S and non-S procedures:
The S label consists of a name with up to 255 characters (corresponding to <structured-name 1..255>) which is followed by a colon. S labels do not belong to the command. They are evaluated by SDF-P only and can only be used in S procedures.
The non-S label consists of a leading period and a name with up to 8 characters (corresponding to <name 1..8>).
The command/statement name must be separated from the ensuing operand(s) by at least one blank.
Operands have to be separated from each other by a comma.
Operand values within a list must be separated by a comma. If several list elements are specified, the enumeration must be enclosed in parentheses.
Operands may be entered either as keyword operands or as positional operands. In keyword operands, an equals sign links operand name and operand value. In positional operands, only the operand value is specified. The assignment being determined via the relative position of the operand within the input stream (see "Positional operands").
Further blanks between keywords, variable operand values, commas and equals signs are possible for documentation purposes and are ignored.
Strings enclosed in quotes are interpreted as comments and ignored. Comments can be used in the same way as further blanks, but they are not permitted in front of labels.
End-of-line comments: In S procedures the character string &* introduces an end-offline comment, i.e. all subsequent characters up to the end of the line are ignored. This means especially that continuation characters, semicolons and &-expressions lose their special meaning.
Continuation lines: A hyphen as the last character of an input record (with any number of trailing blanks) is interpreted as a continuation character. The ensuing input line thus becomes the continuation line of the preceding command or statement. If input is from the display terminal, the system issues “/” or “//” as a prompt requesting continuation of input. If commands/statements are entered from procedure/ENTER files, the continuation line must start with “/” or “//”. The continuation character must be written within the range of columns 2 to 72 if CONTINUATION=*NEW-MODE has been set (see SHOW-SDF-OPTIONS or MODIFY-SDF-OPTIONS). In the case of CONTINUATION=*OLD-MODE the continuation character can only be in column 72. Any characters following after column 72 are ignored. The maximum total length of a command (including any continuation lines) may be 16364 bytes including any blanks and comments. The total length of ISP commands (which are still supported) is 4096 bytes.
Input records for a statement may be longer than 72 characters and may have a continuation character in any column as of column 2. The maximum length of a statement is 16364 bytes.
In interactive mode (terminal input) the input record length and the position of any continuation character depends on the size of the input buffer of the display terminal, but may not exceed 16364 bytes.
In S procedures, the SET-PROCEDURE-OPTIONS INPUT-FORMAT=*FREE-RECORD-LENGTH can be used to freely define the length of command input records, as long as it does not exceed the maximum length of 16364 bytes. The continuation character may be entered in any column as of column 2.
For input from non-S procedure files or ENTER files, keywords must be in uppercase format. The same is true of the values of procedure parameters, S variables and job variables if they are to replace part of the input.
Using a semicolon between two commands permits the simultaneous input of a number of commands within one input record (with the possibility of continuation lines). This option exists in interactive mode and S procedures only.