You can create REXX programs using any editor that can write straight ASCII files without hidden format controls. The OS/2 system editor or the Enhanced Editor are two editors that you can use.
REXX is a free-format programming language. You can indent lines and insert blank lines for readability if you wish. But even free-format languages have some rules about how language elements are used. REXX's rules center around it's basic language element: the clause.
Usually, there is one clause on each line of the program, but you can put several on a line if you wish. Just separate each clause with a semicolon (;):
say "Hello"; say "Goodbye" /* Two clauses on one line */
To continue a clause on a second line, put a comma at the end of the line:
say, /* Continuation */ "It isn't so"
If you need to continue a literal string, do it like this:
say, /* Continuation of literal strings */ "This is a long string that we want to continue", "on another line."
You'll notice that we broke the string at a convenient place (where a blank was expected). REXX automatically adds a blank. If you need to split a string, but don't want to have a blank inserted when REXX puts the string back together, use the REXX concatenation operator (||):
say 'I do not want REXX to in'||, /* Continuation with concatenation */ 'sert a blank!'