Non-SDF notational conventions

Language element	Explanation	Example
KEYWORD	Keywords are shown in underlined uppercase letters. You must specify at least the underlined parts of a keyword.	DATABASE-KEY MANUAL
OPTIONAL WORD	Optional words are shown in uppercase letters without underlining. Such words may be omitted without altering the meaning of a statement.	NAME IS ALLOWED PAGES
variable	Variables are shown in italic lowercase letters. In a format which contains variables, a current value must be entered in place of each variable.	item-name literal-3 integer
{ Either | or }	Exactly one of the expressions enclosed in braces must be specified. Indented lines belong to the preceding expression. The braces themselves must not be specified.	{ CALC | INDEX }   { VALUE IS | VALUES ARE }
[optional]	The expression in square brackets can be omitted. UDS/SQL then uses the default value. The brackets themselves must no be specified.	[IS integer] [WITHIN realm-name]
... or ,...	The immediately preceding expression can be repeated several times if required. The two language elements distinguish between repetitions which use blanks and those which use commas.	item-name,... {SEARCH KEY.....}...
..... or . .	Indicates where entries have been omitted for reasons of clarity. When the formats are used, these omissions are not allowed.	SEARCH KEY IS ..... RECORD NAME       ..       .
.	The period must be specified and must be followed by at least one blank. The underline must not be specified.	SET SECTION. 03 item-name..... .
Space	Means that at least one blank has to be specified.	USING CALC

Table 3: Notational conventions

All other characters such as ( ) , . ; “ = are not metacharacters;
they must be specified exactly as they appear in the formats.