NCL Statement Types and Syntax › Label Statements

Label Statements

NCL supports the definition of labels that can be branched to during processing using an &GOTO or &GOSUB statement. The following rules apply when defining labels:

• Labels commence with a period (.), followed by 1 to 12 characters and not containing any ampersands (&).
• A label is not required to commence in column 1. However, it must be the first item on the statement.
• A label can be placed on a statement containing no other data.

Examples: Valid Label

.LABEL1         -* Normal label
.10             -* Numeric label
.ACT-NODE       -* Label containing special characters
.CMD1 statement -* NCL statement following label

Examples: Invalid Label

BAD             -* Does not commence with a period.
.LABELTOOOLONG  -* Label must be 1 to 12 characters.
.LABEL&1        -* Cannot contain ampersands.
XYZ .LABEL      -* Must be first item on line.