Guardian Programming Reference Summary for pTAL and TAL
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Guardian Programming Reference Summary for pTAL and TAL—522631-001
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General Syntax Notation
{ } Braces. A group of items enclosed in braces is a list from which you are required to 
choose one item. The items in the list may be arranged either vertically, with aligned 
braces on each side of the list, or horizontally, enclosed in a pair of braces and separated 
by vertical lines. For example:
LISTOPENS PROCESS { $appl-mgr-name }
 { $process-name }
ALLOWSU { ON | OFF }
| Vertical Line. A vertical line separates alternatives in a horizontal list that is enclosed in 
brackets or braces. For example:
INSPECT { OFF | ON | SAVEABEND }
… Ellipsis. An ellipsis immediately following a pair of brackets or braces indicates that you 
can repeat the enclosed sequence of syntax items any number of times. For example:
M address-1 [ , new-value ]...
[ - ] {0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9}...
An ellipsis immediately following a single syntax item indicates that you can repeat that 
syntax item any number of times. For example:
"s-char..."
Punctuation. Parentheses, commas, semicolons, and other symbols not previously described 
must be entered as shown. For example:
error := NEXTFILENAME ( file-name ) ;
LISTOPENS SU $process-name.#su-name
Quotation marks around a symbol such as a bracket or brace indicate that the symbol is 
a required character that you must enter as shown. For example:
"[" repetition-constant-list "]"
Item Spacing. Spaces shown between items are required unless one of the items is a 
punctuation symbol such as a parenthesis or a comma. For example:
CALL STEPMOM ( process-id ) ;
If there is no space between two items, spaces are not permitted. In the following 
example, there are no spaces permitted between the period and any other items:
$process-name.#su-name
Line Spacing. If the syntax of a command is too long to fit on a single line, each continuation 
line is indented three spaces and is separated from the preceding line by a blank line. 
This spacing distinguishes items in a continuation line from items in a vertical list of 
selections. For example:
ALTER [ / OUT file-spec / ] CONTROLLER
 [ , attribute-spec ]...










