Argument Substitution Rules

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Argument Substitution Rules

Values are substituted into variable symbols according to the following rules:

A single command string can contain up to 16 discrete variables (@1 through @16).
Sometimes the variable symbol combined with the literal string yields unpredictable results. Use a period (.) to remove ambiguity.
For example:
```
 I DCMT V PR BUGA0@160 NCI
```
In this case, @160 could be interpreted as either @1 or @16, with @16 being assumed. If you use a period to delimit the variable, however, it is clear that the variable is @1:
```
 I DCMT V PR BUGA0@1.60 NCI
```
You can use a variable symbol more than once in a substitution string. For example, if the substitution word is DEBUG, the following string:
```
 I @1 @1 PROGRAM
```
yields
```
 I DEBUG DEBUG PROGRAM
```
Any value in the command can be symbolized. For example, in the command ADS ICD@1, you can replace the variable @1 with the rest of the dialog name.
Use the TIE character (_) to substitute multiple words for a single symbol. For example:
Assume that the command "@2 DCMT @1" is assigned to a PF key. If "I" is to be substituted for variable @2 and "D AC TA" for variable @1, you must use the TIE character and enter variable @1 as "D_AC_TA." A space replaces each TIE byte to yield:
```
 I DCMT D AC TA
```
Substitution words are numbered sequentially according to their position in the input data stream. Thus, if you enter the values A B C D, value A is substituted into variable @1, B into @2, C into @3, and D into @4.
If a substitution string contains a variable symbol, but no substitution word is supplied, a single space replaces the symbol.In the example &od. DCMT @1", if you entered "D_AC_TA" as the only substitution word, the result would be the command:
```
 DCMT D AC TA
```
"D_AC_TA" is substituted into variable @1; and because no other word was entered, a space replaces variable @2.