Call (CALL) Command Parameter Conversions

When you call a program from a CL command line, the parameters you pass on the Call command are changed, depending on how you state the parameters. Table 1 shows how parameters are converted.

Table 1. Call (CALL) Command Parameter Conversions
Conversion Rules	Examples	Conversion Results
String literals are passed with a null terminating character.	`CALL PGM(T1520REP) PARM(abc)`	`ABC\0` (converted to uppercase; passed as a string)
Numeric constants are passed as packed decimal digits.	`CALL PGM(T1520REP) PARM('123.4')`	`123.4` (passed as a packed decimal (15,5))
Characters that are not enclosed in single quotation marks are: Folded to uppercase Passed with a null character	`CALL PGM(T1520REP) PARM(123.4)`	`123.4\0` (passed as a string)
Characters that are enclosed in single quotation marks are not changed. Mixed case strings are supported, and are passed with a null terminating character.	`CALL PGM(T1520REP) PARM('abc')` and `CALL PGM(T1520REP) PARM('abC')`	`abc\0` (passed as a string) and `abC\0` (passed as a string)

The REXX interpreter treats all REXX variables as strings (without a null terminator). REXX passes parameters to IBM® i which then calls the ILE C/C++ program. Conversion to a packed decimal data type still occurs, and strings are null terminated.

Note: These changes only apply to calling a program from a command line, not to interlanguage calls. See Using ILE C/C++ Call Conventions for information on ILE C/C++ calling conventions.