Terminology

Commands. The basic unit of syntax is the command. Each command begins with the command name, which consists of one, two, or three words--for example, DESCRIPTIVES, SORT CASES, or ADD VALUE LABELS.

Subcommands. Most commands contain subcommands. Subcommands provide for additional specifications and begin with a forward slash followed by the name of the subcommand.

Keywords. Keywords are fixed terms that are typically used within a subcommand to specify options available for the subcommand.

Keyword Values. Keywords can have values such as a fixed term that specifies an option or a numeric value.

Example

CODEBOOK gender jobcat salary
  /VARINFO VALUELABELS MISSING 
  /OPTIONS VARORDER=MEASURE.

• The name of the command is CODEBOOK.
• VARINFO and OPTIONS are subcommands.
• VALUELABELS, MISSING, and VARORDER are keywords.
• MEASURE is a keyword value associated with VARORDER.