HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Parameters within Syntax
MPE/iX commands instruct the system to perform a desired function. If
you include parameters with the command before you enter it, the
parameters specifically instruct the system how it should perform the
command function.
There are three types of parameters:
* required
* optional
* positional
Required parameters
You must enter all required parameters; otherwise, MPE/iX displays an
error message when you enter the command. In the syntax diagrams for
each command, either braces { } or no marks surround required parameters.
In the following example, myfile is a required parameter because no marks
surround it:
BUILD myfile
Anything italicized, such as myfile, is a representational name or value
and must be replaced with an actual name or value.
Sometimes you must select one parameter from two or more parameters. In
the following example, you must provide either a job number or a session
number because braces surround these parameters:
ALTJOB {#Jnnn}
{#Snnn}
Optional parameters
You can either specify or ignore optional parameters, if any, depending
on how you want the command to execute. In the syntax diagrams for each
command, brackets [ ] surround optional parameters. If you ignore
optional parameters, MPE/iX uses the system-defined default values for
each parameter.
In the following example, [;PASS] is an optional parameter because
brackets surround it:
NEWGROUP groupname [;PASS=[password]]
In this example, PASS is the parameter and password is the parameter
value. You would substitute an actual password in place of password to
provide a value for the parameter PASS. The syntax diagram indicates that
the value password is optional within the optional parameter PASS.
Positional parameters
The effect of a positional parameter depends on its location in the
parameter list. In the syntax diagram for each command, the comma (,)
separates positional parameters. If you omit a positional parameter from
the list, you must provide a comma placeholder that would normally
precede that parameter.
In the following example, the parameter values that follow the command
are positional:
LIMIT 10,32
In the following example, a comma holds the position of the current value
of the first parameter:
LIMIT ,32