Open System Services Programmer's Guide

| 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 [ , 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 typed
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 the symbol is a required
character that you must type 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 this example, no spaces
are 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 / ] LINE
[ , attribute-spec ]…
Related Information
NOTE: The HP NonStop OSS and Guardian documents are available from the NonStop Technical
Library (NTL). The NTL is located at http://www.hp.com/go/nonstop-docs (external view).
Table 1 shows the programming guides, reference manuals, and user guides that contain information
related to the information in this guide.
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