6100 ADCCP Programming Manual

Notation Conventions
069225 Tandem Computers Incorporated xv
The following list summarizes the conventions for syntax presentation in this manual.
Notation Meaning
UPPERCASE LETTERS Uppercase letters represent keywords and reserved words; enter these
items exactly as shown.
lowercase italic letters Lowercase italic letters represent variable items that you supply.
Brackets [ ] Brackets enclose optional syntax items. A group of vertically aligned
items enclosed in brackets represents a list of selections from which you
can choose one or none.
I and O In procedure calls, input parameters (those passing data to the called
procedure) are followed by an I; output parameters (those that return
data to the calling program) are followed by an O.
Spaces If a space separates two items, that space is required. If one of the
items is a punctuation symbol, such as a parenthesis or a comma,
spaces are optional.
Punctuation Parentheses, commas, semicolons, and other symbols not described
above must be entered precisely as shown. Quotation marks around
any symbol indicate that it is not a syntax descriptor but a required
character, and you must enter it as shown.
Exclamation point ! An exclamation point indicates that a comment follows. In procedure
call descriptions, the comment is either an “i” or an “o” (or both), which
indicates that the parameter is either an input (i) or an output (o)
parameter (or both).
INT Indicates that the parameter type is an integer (one word).
:INT(32) Indicates that the parameter type is a double word integer (two words).
STRING Indicates that the parameter type is a character string.
:ref:* Follows a parameter type and indicates a reference parameter. The
number of elements returned varies according to the number of
elements requested.
:ref:x Follows a parameter type and indicates that the parameter is a
reference parameter; that is, the address of the parameter is passed.
(The statements within the program body must access the actual
parameter contents indirectly through the parameter location.) The
number of elements contained in the parameter is defined by x. For
example, INT:ref:12 defines an integer parameter that is passed by
reference and that has 12 elements.
:value Follows a parameter type and indicates that the actual value of the
contents of a parameter are passed.