Command Syntax
A command consists of a command name, optionally followed by one or more operands. Operands provide the specific information required for the command processor to perform the requested operation. For example, the first two operands for the RENAME command identify the data set to be renamed and specify the new name:
RENAME
|
OLDNAME
|
NEWNAME
|
[ALIAS]
|
|---|---|---|---|
command name
|
operand_1
(old data set name) |
operand_2
(new data set name) |
operand_3
|
There are two types of operands that can follow a command name: positional operands and keyword operands. Positional operands immediately follow the command name and must be in a specific order. Keyword operands are specific names or symbols that have a particular meaning to the command processor. The terminal user can enter keyword operands anywhere in the command line as long as they follow all positional operands. A keyword operand can have a subfield associated with it. A subfield consists of a parenthesized list of positional or keyword operands directly following the keyword.
In the example above, OLDNAME and NEWNAME are
positional operands; ALIAS is a keyword operand.
The braces around ALIAS indicate that the operand
is not required.
The terminal user can enter comments in the command line anywhere
a blank might appear by enclosing the text within the delimiters /* and */.