NET/MASTER Network Control Language (NCL) Programmer's Guide

About This Manual
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The NonStop NET/MASTER Network Control Language (NCL) is part of NonStop
NET/MASTER Management Services (MS).
The NonStop NET/MASTER NCL Programmer's Guide is designed to give you a
complete overview of NCL.
The manual describes NCL concepts and terms. It discusses how to create and execute
NCL procedures and functions, and how to control NCL processes. It explains how to
use NCL core statements, verbs, built-in functions, variables, expressions, and
operators.
The manual does not discuss the syntax of individual language constructs. This is
covered in the companion manual, the NonStop NET/MASTER NCL Reference Manual.
Who Should Read This
Manual
This manual is intended for all NonStop NET/MASTER MS users who write and
maintain NCL procedures. This includes programmers, operators, and system and
network managers.
What You Need to
Know Before Using
This Manual
Before you use this manual, you need to know the following:
How to use the terminal or workstation from which you access NonStop
NET/MASTER MS
How to use NonStop NET/MASTER MS, particularly Operator Control Services
(OCS) and Edit Services
How to use the Tandem text editor, PS Text Edit (TEDIT)
If you know another high-level programming language, such as C or Pascal, you will
find that many NCL concepts and terms are familiar.
How This Manual Is
Organized
This manual contains 18 sections, a glossary, and an index. Here is an overview of
each section:
Section 1, “Introduction to NCL,” introduces NCL. It explains where NCL fits in
with major NonStop NET/MASTER MS services and describes some of the
operations available through NCL.
Section 2, “NCL Summary,” summarizes the main features and elements of NCL.
It briefly describes every core statement and verb.
Section 3, “An NCL Tutorial,” is a step-by-step tutorial that leads you through
writing and executing your first few NCL procedures. It introduces some
important core statements and verbs.
Section 4, “Initial NCL Procedure Development,” discusses the fundamentals of
NCL procedure development. It outlines the structure of an NCL procedure,
summarizes tasks associated with writing an NCL procedure, discusses NCL
procedure libraries, and explains how to display information about NCL
procedures.