ENFORM Reference Manual

Special Characters
ENFORM Language Elements
3–4 058057 Tandem Computers Incorporated
Special Characters Table 3-2 shows the ENFORM special characters and describes their functions within a
query.
Table 3-2. Special Characters
Character Name Character Description
blank Separates keywords and other language elements.
quotation mark ” Serves as delimiter for various language elements, such
as alphanumeric literals, and some display formats.
assignment syntax := Assigns a value to a target-item.
apostrophe ’ Serves as a delimiter for display formats, some
conditional operators.
parenthesis ( ) Delimits various language elements. Must appear in
balanced pairs.
brackets [ ] Delimits subscripts, modifiers, and decorations. Must
appear in balanced pairs.
question mark ? Denotes commands when directly followed by a keyword.
comma , Separates multiple query specifications in the same
statement; always optional.
semicolon ; Terminates statements.
Comments A comment clarifies and documents the purpose of the your query. A comment is
denoted by the exclamation character (!). A comment can be the only text on a line, the
last text on a line, or text embedded within a line. When a comment is embedded
within a line, it must be enclosed with exclamation marks. For example, consider the
following comments:
!This query produces Finance Report 301
DICTIONARY finance.subvol; ! Information is confidential
OPEN finance1, !Only two files are needed! finance2;