Implied Semicolons

The last element in a clause is the semicolon delimiter. The language processor implies the semicolon: at a line-end, after certain keywords, and after a colon if it follows a single symbol.

This means that you need to include semicolons only when there is more than one clause on a line, or to end an instruction whose last character is a comma.

A line-end usually marks the end of a clause and, thus, REXX implies a semicolon at most end of lines. However, there are the following exceptions:
  • The line ends in the middle of a string.
  • The line ends in the middle of a comment. The clause continues on to the next line.
  • The last token was the continuation character (a comma) and the line does not end in the middle of a comment. (Note that a comment is not a token.)

REXX automatically implies semicolons after colons (when following a single symbol, a label) and after certain keywords when they are in the correct context. The keywords that have this effect are: ELSE, OTHERWISE, and THEN. These special cases reduce typographical errors significantly.

Note: The two characters forming the comment delimiters, /* and */, must not be split by a line-end (that is, / and * should not appear on different lines) because they could not then be recognized correctly; an implied semicolon would be added. The two consecutive characters forming a literal quotation mark within a string are also subject to this line-end ruling.