Format and coding conventions

The conventions in this publication that illustrate the format and coding of IOCP statements are:
  • You must code uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks exactly as shown.

    Exceptions to this convention are brackets ([ ]), braces ({ }), and ellipses (…). You never code these characters.

  • Lowercase letters represent variables for which you must substitute information or specific values.
  • Items enclosed in braces ({ }) represent alternative items. You must code only one of the items.
  • Items enclosed in brackets ([ ]) are optional. You can omit them. Conversely, the lack of brackets indicates that an item must be coded.
  • An ellipsis (…) indicates that the previous item or group of items can be coded two or more times in succession.
  • The "or" sign (|) separates alternative items.
  • An alternative item that is underlined is the default value. IOCP uses the default value if you do not specify the keyword.
  • You must enclose single-value subfields in parentheses if you code more than one of them. If you code only one subfield, you can omit the parentheses. For example, you can code either CUNUMBR=(530) or CUNUMBR=530 in the IODEVICE statement.
  • You must enclose the UNITADD= subfields in the CNTLUNIT statement in double parentheses because these subfields can contain multiple values. (Single parentheses enclose each subfield; another set encloses all the subfields.) For example, you code UNITADD=((00,16),(20,8)). If you code only a single subparameter for one subfield, you can omit the parentheses. For example, you can code either UNITADD=((0A)) or UNITADD=0A.
  • Parameters, subfields, and subparameters coded in the operand field must be separated by commas.