The LMS statements are read via the SDF user interface and processed by the command processor SDF (System Dialog Facility). Different forms of guided or unguided dialog exist with the facility to request help menus for the statements. See also [3 (Related publications)].
Continuation lines
It is also possible for statements to extend over more than one record. Splitting is governed
by the BS2000 command language conventions. A hyphen (-) is used as the separator
character. Statement lines may be up to 32763 characters long.
Abbreviation options
When entering LMS statements it is permissible to abbreviate statement names, operand names and keywords.
The following rules then apply:
It is possible in each case to abbreviate from right to left so long as uniqueness is maintained. This applies both to the name as a whole and to subnames (beginning with a hyphen) and allows for the possibility of the subname being omitted entirely.
The guaranteed abbreviation options for all statements, operands and operand values are indicated in the syntax descriptions of the statements by boldface print. It is however possible to abbreviate beyond these (so long as uniqueness is maintained within a structure).
In order to avoid ambiguity resulting from functional extensions in future versions and to ensure readability for other users, abbreviations should be avoided in procedures.
Positional operands
SDF allows the optional specification of operands as keyword operands or positional operands. However, the possibility of an operand position changing in a subsequent version cannot be completely ruled out. It is therefore advisable to avoid using positional operands in procedures.