ILE COBOL Syntax Notation

ILE COBOL basic formats are presented in a uniform system of syntax notation. This notation, designed to assist you in writing COBOL source statements, is explained in the following paragraphs:

COBOL keywords and optional words appear in uppercase letters; for example:
```
MOVE
```
They must be spelled exactly as shown. If any keyword is missing, the compiler considers it to be an error.
Variables representing user-supplied names or values appear in all lowercase letters; for example:
```
parmx
```
For easier text reference, some words are followed by a hyphen and a digit or a letter, as in:
```
identifier-1
```
This suffix does not change the syntactical definition of the word.
Arithmetic and logical operators (+, -, *, ⁄, **, >, <, =, >=, and <=) that appear in syntax formats are required. For a complete listing of reserved ILE COBOL words, see the IBM® Rational® Development Studio for i: ILE COBOL Reference.
All punctuation and other special characters appearing in the diagram are required by the syntax of the format when they are shown; if you leave them out, errors will occur in the program.
You must write the required and optional clauses (when used) in the order shown in the diagram unless the associated rules explicitly state otherwise.