Statements and Functions

Edit online

SSPL provides CL/SuperSession and product-specific statements and functions.

Statements and functions perform procedures within a dialog. Functions use arguments that must be enclosed in parentheses; statements use operands that are not enclosed in parentheses. See Syntax for more information.

Statements and functions are grouped into the following categories:

  • String functions, which control the processing and resolution of string expressions. (Refer to "String Expressions".) String functions allow you to perform decimal to hexadecimal conversions, encrypt and decrypt character strings, evaluate variables, determine if a string is numeric, and so forth.
  • System service functions, which provide access to the CL/SuperSession system services, such as the Presentation Space Manager (PSM), PDS Services, and Table Services. These are described more fully in "Language Components". Note that the function prefix generally indicates the system service relationship: PDS indicates a PDS service function; TB indicates a Table Services function, and so forth.
  • Product-specific functions, which are linked to a product such as CL/SuperSession (Some of these are only available with certain product combinations.) As with system services, the prefix indicates the product relationship: VIG denotes CL/SuperSession.
  • Miscellaneous statements and functions, which provide general purpose Dialog Language functionality.

Statements and functions are summarized in tables in "Language Components" and described in detail in "Placeholders, Statements, and Functions".