pTAL Reference Manual (H06.03+)

Language Elements
HP pTAL Reference Manual—523746-005
2-5
Operators
Operators
Operators specify operations, such as arithmetic or assignments, that you want to
perform on data items.
-> Hyphen plus right
angle bracket
•
Begins one or more labels in a labeled CASE
statement
•
Begins a next-addr clause in a SCAN or
RSCAN statement
•
Begins a next-addr clause in a move statement
•
Begins a next-addr clause in a group
comparison expression
"string " Quotation marks Delimit a character string
"" Consecutive
quotation marks
The first quotation mark indicates that the second
quotation mark is not a delimiter in a character string
= Equal sign
•
Used in LITERAL declarations
•
Used in equivalence variable declarations
•
Used in redefinition declarations
= body # Equal sign and hash
mark
Delimit the body in a DEFINE declaration
‘,’ Single quotation
marks
Delimit a comma that is not a delimiter in a DEFINE
parameter
$ Dollar sign Denotes a built-in routine (such as $ABS) or a built-in
routine (such as $ASCIITOFIXED)
? Question mark Begins a directive line
Table 2-5. Operators (page 1 of 2)
Context Operator Description
Assignment := Data declaration initialization; assignment
statement, FOR statement, and
assignment expression
Move statement ':='
'=:'
&
Left-to-right move
Right-to-left move
Concatenated move
Labeled CASE statement . .(two periods) Describes a range of case alteratives
Remove indirection @ Accesses the address contained in a
pointer or the address of a nonpointer item
Repetition * (asterisk) Repetition factor in a constant list
Table 2-4. Delimiters (page2of2)
Symbol
Character
Representation Uses