Control Statements › Syntax

Syntax

The nine general rules applying to all CA JARS Wizard control statements are described next.

1. A statement can consist of three parts: a statement name, one or more keyword parameters, and a list of one or more data field names. For example:

   LIST JOB NAME, STEP NAME, ACTIVE TIME
   

   The statement name (LIST in the sample statement) can start in any position; however, it must be the first entry in the control statement.

   Keyword parameters can appear anywhere after the statement name except in the middle of a list.

   Lists such as the string of data field names given above, can be of various lengths. Each entry except the last must be followed by a comma.

2. CA JARS Wizard makes extensive use of suffix codes to specify optional special processing. For example, COMPUTE(T) and LIST(SUM) are special variations of the COMPUTE and LIST statements. Similarly, WK35(.4) establishes a data field with four decimal places, and ELAPS TIME(MS) converts time data from seconds to minutes and seconds for printing in a report. Suffixes must be appended to the operation code or the field name without intervening blanks.
3. CA JARS Wizard ignores any entries after position 72 in a control record. Position 72 itself can be used only to indicate that a statement is being continued on the next control record.
4. Blank spaces are important.

   Data field names can contain blank spaces, but never more than one at a time.

   Example:

   JOB NAME  - valid
   JOB  NAME - invalid
   

   Any number of blank spaces can be inserted before or after a data field name, statement name, or punctuation.

5. Character literals should normally be enclosed in single quotation marks (' ') to avoid overhead and confusion with data field names. The quote marks are absolutely required only when the literal contains special characters or spaces.

   Both of the following statements are valid:

   SELECT APPL CODE EQ AB137596
   SELECT APPL CODE EQ 'AB137596'
   

   The first statement, with no quotation marks, causes CA JARS Wizard to perform the following checks:

   • It looks for a new data field defined with the name AB137596.
   • If there is no new data field with that name, it checks the input file glossary for a data field named AB137596.
   • If the file search is unsuccessful, it assumes that AB137596 is a data value in the APPL CODE field.
6. Comments

   Any control record with an * in column 1 is treated as a comment. The text is included in the listing for the run, but it has no effect on processing. One or more comments can be inserted at any point in the control statements.

7. Continuation of Control Statements

   Any statement can be continued onto one or more additional records by two methods:

   • Insert any character in position 72.
   • CA JARS Wizard assumes that a statement is continued on the next record if the last entry in the current record is any one of the following:

     , comma           AND       EQ    EL
                       OR        NE    LE
                       THEN      GT    GE
                       ELSE      LT
                       ALWAYS    EG
     

     CA JARS Wizard assumes that position 1 of the continuation record immediately follows position 71 of the record that is being continued. All the rules for the use of blank spaces apply; therefore, if a data field name, literal value, or keyword is interrupted, the text must resume in position 1. Otherwise, initial columns can be left blank if it helps to format the statement listing.

   In addition, COMPUTE, SELECT, REJECT, and EXCEPTION statements are assumed to be continued if the statement only contains the keyword and if the statement ends with an operator (for example, +,-,*,/).

8. Reserved Words

   Certain words have special meaning to CA JARS Wizard and must not be used for anything else. For example:

   BLANK  BLANKS
   SPACE  SPACES
   

   All refer to a field of blank spaces. It can be any length. These words can be used to move a field of blanks to a data field, to compare a field with a field of blanks, or to base selection on whether a field contains blanks.

9. No punctuation is required at the end of a control statement. A period is permitted. The rest of the record must be blank through position 72.