Commands

Commands are the instructions that you give the program to initiate an action. For the program to interpret your commands correctly, you must follow certain rules.

Syntax Diagrams

Each command described in this manual includes a syntax diagram that shows all of the subcommands, keywords, and specifications allowed for that command. By recognizing symbols and different type fonts, you can use the syntax diagram as a quick reference for any command.

  • Lines of text in italics indicate limitation or operation mode of the command.
  • Elements shown in upper case are keywords to identify commands, subcommands, functions, operators, and other specifications. In the sample syntax diagram below, T-TEST is the command and GROUPS is a subcommand.
  • Elements in lower case describe specifications that you supply. For example, varlist indicates that you need to supply a list of variables.
  • Elements in bold are defaults. There are two types of defaults. When the default is followed by **, as ANALYSIS** is in the sample syntax diagram below, the default (ANALYSIS) is in effect if the subcommand (MISSING) is not specified. If a default is not followed by **, it is in effect when the subcommand (or keyword) is specified by itself.
  • Parentheses, apostrophes, and quotation marks are required where indicated.
  • Unless otherwise noted, elements enclosed in square brackets ([ ]) are optional. For some commands, square brackets are part of the required syntax. The command description explains which specifications are required and which are optional.
  • Braces ({ }) indicate a choice between elements. You can specify any one of the elements enclosed within the aligned braces.
  • Ellipses indicate that you can repeat an element in the specification. The specification

    T-TEST PAIRS=varlist [WITH varlist [(PAIRED)]] [/varlist ...]

    means that you can specify multiple variable lists with optional WITH variables and the keyword PAIRED in parentheses.

  • Most abbreviations are obvious; for example, varname stands for variable name and varlist stands for a variable list.
  • The command terminator is not shown in the syntax diagram.

Command Specification

The following rules apply to all commands:

  • Commands begin with a keyword that is the name of the command and often have additional specifications, such as subcommands and user specifications. Refer to the discussion of each command to see which subcommands and additional specifications are required.
  • Commands and any command specifications can be entered in upper and lower case. Commands, subcommands, keywords, and variable names are translated to upper case before processing. All user specifications, including variable names, labels, and data values, preserve upper and lower case.
  • Spaces can be added between specifications at any point where a single blank is allowed. In addition, lines can be broken at any point where a single blank is allowed. There are two exceptions: the END DATA command can have only one space between words, and string specifications on commands such as TITLE, SUBTITLE, VARIABLE LABELS, and VALUE LABELS can be broken across two lines only by specifying a plus sign (+) between string segments. See the topic String Values in Command Specifications for more information.
  • Many command names and keywords can be abbreviated to the first three or more characters that can be resolved without ambiguity. For example, COMPUTE can be abbreviated to COMP but not COM because the latter does not adequately distinguish it from COMMENT. Some commands, however, require that all specifications be spelled out completely. This restriction is noted in the syntax chart for those commands.