Notational Conventions
The following notational conventions are used throughout the IBM® Connect:Direct® for z/OS documentation.
| Syntax or Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| Bold letters | Boldface letters indicate required statements, labels, commands, or parameters. |
| Lowercase letters | Words in lowercase letters require substitution by the user. |
| UPPERCASE and lowercase letters | Uppercase letters in a statement, command, or parameter indicate an alternative to typing the entire command. |
| Underlined letters | Underlined letters indicate default values for parameters and subparameters. |
| | | A vertical bar symbolizes “or.” |
| [ ] | Brackets indicate optional information. |
| , | Commas separate items within a list or set off the order of values specified as positional parameters. A comma must be used to indicate omission of a positional parameter. |
| = | Characters to the left of equal signs are keywords; characters to the right of equal signs are parameters. |
| ( ) | Parentheses enclose lists and associate a group of values. |
| * | Asterisks indicate a generic specification of parameters. With generics, users can request information by specifying an asterisk (*) or a character string plus an asterisk (nnn*). |
| ‘ ' | Single quotation marks enclose special characters. |
| “ ” | Double quotation marks enclose symbolics within a quoted string. |
| \ \ | Bracketing backslashes indicate special processing of a character string. They are used to continue a string containing special characters across multiple records or to ensure that quotation marks within the string are maintained. |
| || | A double bar is used to concatenate character strings. A blank space is required before and after the double bar. |
| - | A hyphen is used to continue a statement across multiple records. A blank space is required before and after the hyphen. |