TACL Reference Manual

HP NonStop TACL Reference Manual—429513-018

9-1

Built-In Functions and Variables

This section contains an alphabetic summary of all built-in functions and variables,

followed by descriptions, in alphabetic order, of the syntax for each built-in function and

built-in variable. Each description (where appropriate) contains:

•

A summary of the purpose of the function or variable

•

The syntax of the function or variable, including a description of the syntax of

parameters (in the case of a built-in variable, the syntax of the #SET function used

to assign values to the variable is also described)

•

The result returned from a function or variable invocation

•

The listing format used for output (if a function produces a display or listing output)

•

Considerations for the use of the function or variable

•

Examples of usage of the function or variable

Many TACL built-in functions access Guardian procedures to provide functionality.

Appendix C, Mapping TACL Built-In Functions to Guardian Procedures, shows whether

a TACL built-in function accesses a Guardian procedure, and if so, which procedure or

procedures. To enhance your understanding of a built-in function, refer to the

description for the corresponding Guardian procedure in the Guardian Procedure Calls

Reference Manual.

Summary of Built-In Functions

Table 9-1 on page 9-2 summarizes the built-in functions and their uses.

Note. All examples in this section are based on the assumptions that the built-in variable

#INFORMAT has been set to TACL, which enables recognition and processing of the TACL

special characters ([ and ], for example); that the built-in variable #PMSEARCHLIST has been

set to include (at least) $SYSTEM.SYSTEM and the keyword #DEFAULTS, which enables the

use of implied RUN commands; and that the required TACL library files have been loaded into

memory.

Note. All TACL built-ins are executed by the TACL process, which runs only on the node

where it was started, regardless of any SYSTEM commands that are issued. To execute a

built-in command on another system, you must start a new TACL process on that system.