The HPCICOMMAND intrinsic provides programmatic access to the CI command set, command files, and UDCs. Most CI commands can be invoked from an application program by calling this intrinsic and specifying the command name and appropriate parameters. (Commands that cannot be called from an application program include: ABORT, BYE, CHGROUP, DATA, DO, EOD, EOJ, EXIT, HELLO, JOB, LISTREDO, OPTION, REDO, RESUME, and SETCATALOG.)
The command and its parameters are passed as a command string through the first parameter of the HPCICOMMAND intrinsic. This command string must be terminated by a carriage return character. A prompt character is not included. Any error code set by the command is returned in the command error parameter.
The HPCICOMMAND can be used to invoke a command file or UDC from an application program. This allows multiple commands or frequently used routines to be called with a single intrinsic reference.
The COMMAND intrinsic functions similarly to the HPCICOMMAND intrinsic. Its command set, however, is limited to the MPE/iX built-in commands. You cannot access UDCs or command files with this intrinsic. In most instances, the HPCICOMMAND intrinsic is preferred because of its ability to execute multiple commands through UDCs and command files.
