The INPUT-FORMAT operand of the SET-PROCEDURE-OPTIONS command is used to specify where in the procedure line the continuation character must be placed if the command or statement sequence extends over several lines.
The operand values which can be specified for INPUT-FORMAT are *FREE-RECORD-LENGTH and *BY-SDF-OPTION.
If *FREE-RECORD-LENGTH is set, the continuation character may appear in any position in the procedure line. However, it must be the last relevant character in the line. *FREE-RECORD-LENGTH is the default setting.
If *BY-SDF-OPTION is set, the positioning of the continuation character depends on the setting of the CONTINUATION operand in the MODIFY-SDF-OPTIONS command. If CONTINUATION =*NEW-MODE is specified, the continuation character may be anywhere between columns 2 and 72. If CONTINUATION = *OLD-MODE is specified, the continuation character must be in column 72.
The setting *BY-SDF-OPTION ensures the compatibility of non-S procedures with S procedures, thus facilitating conversion.
The value set for the INPUT-FORMAT operand applies for the entire procedure, and cannot be modified by MODIFY-PROCEDURE-OPTIONS.