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Variable Names

Variables are used to indicate items whose values will be determined when the program is executed. In addition to having predefined variables, ACL/E allows you to define your own variables.

ACL/E treats a string preceded by an ampersand (&) and ending with a delimiter (such as a space or period) as a variable name. If the ampersand is followed immediately by a blank character or period, then it is treated as the ampersand character (&).

ACL/E treats the eight characters immediately after the ampersand as the variable name unless it encounters a space, period, comma, slash, left parenthesis, quote, or another ampersand.

The concatenation character (a period) is used to produce one value that is the combination of the two or more variables or text strings.