The value part of an edit macro assignment statement can be:
- A literal character string can be one of these types:
- Simple
- Any series of characters not enclosed within quotes (either ' or "),
parentheses, or less-than (<) and greater-than
signs (>), and not containing any embedded blanks
or commas.
- Delimited
- Any string starting and ending with a quote (either ' or "),
but not containing embedded quotes. The delimiting quotes are not
considered to be part of the data.
- A dialog variable name enclosed in parentheses (varname). If the dialog variable name is
on the right, the entire contents of the variable are considered part
of the data, including any quotes, apostrophes, blanks, commas, or
other special characters. If the dialog variable name is on the left,
its content is totally replaced.
Note: - In the CLIST environment, the CLIST variable pool and the dialog
function variable pool are merged. Therefore, variables in parentheses
are the same as ampersand variables, except that the editor does the
symbolic substitution rather than the CLIST processor.
- In the REXX environment, the REXX variable pool and the dialog
function variable pool are also merged. Therefore, quoted variable
names in parentheses are the same as unquoted variable names, except
that the editor does the symbolic substitution rather than the REXX
processor.
- In a program macro, you must use the VDEFINE service for any variables
that are passed to the editor.