IBM TSO/E REXX User Manual

Contents
Figures............................ix
Tables ............................xi
About This Book .......................xiii
Who Should Use This Book ....................xiii
How This Book Is Organized ....................xiii
Terminology .........................xiii
Purpose of Each Chapter ....................xiv
Examples ..........................xiv
Exercises ..........................xiv
Where to Find More Information ..................xiv
Accessing Licensed Books on the Web ...............xiv
Using LookAt to Look Up Message Explanations ...........xv
Part 1. Learning the REXX Language......................1
Chapter 1. Introduction ......................3
What is REXX? .........................3
Features of REXX ........................3
Ease of use .........................3
Free format .........................3
Convenient built-in functions ...................4
Debugging capabilities .....................4
Interpreted language ......................4
Extensive parsing capabilities ...................4
Components of REXX.......................4
The SAA Solution ........................4
Benefits of Using a Compiler ....................5
Improved Performance .....................5
Reduced System Load .....................5
Protection for Source Code and Programs ..............6
Improved Productivity and Quality .................6
Portability of Compiled Programs..................6
SAA Compliance Checking ....................6
Chapter 2. Writing and Running a REXX Exec .............7
Before You Begin ........................7
What is a REXX Exec? ......................8
Syntax of REXX Instructions ....................9
The Character Type of REXX Instructions ..............9
The Format of REXX Instructions .................10
Types of REXX Instructions ...................12
Execs Using Double-Byte Character Set Names ............14
Running an Exec ........................16
Running an Exec Explicitly ...................16
Running an Exec Implicitly ...................17
Interpreting Error Messages ....................19
Preventing Translation to Uppercase .................20
From Within an Exec......................20
As Input to an Exec ......................20
Passing Information to an Exec ...................21
Using Terminal Interaction ....................21
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1988, 2001 iii

IBM TSO/E REXX Specifications

General

Brand	IBM
Model	TSO/E REXX
Category	Computer Hardware
Language	English