Command design

The IBM i operating system allows users to define and create their own commands.

To create a command, you must first define the command through command definition statements. Then use the Create Command (CRTCMD) command to process the command definition statements to create the command definition object.

When you define and create a command, take into consideration the following information:

• Use help panel groups to provide online help information for the command.
• Use message identifiers instead of literal text for the PROMPT keyword on the CL CMD, PARM, ELEM, and QUAL command definition statements.
• Translate the text that is displayed to the right of the prompt line of each parameter on the prompt display. This text is specified by the CHOICE parameter of the PARM command definition statements, so the appearance of the command prompt display maintains its coherency.
• Compile command-prompt text into separate command definition object versions for each national language. Use the Change System Library List (CHGSYSLIBL) command before creating the command to get the national language version prompt text from the correct national language version library.
• The function keys of the command prompt display are provided by the operating system. If the NLV of the operating system is different from the NLV of the command, two different languages appear on the command prompt display. For example, when translating an English display into German, both the English and German appear on the command prompt display.

  The Control language information includes additional information about creating and defining commands.