REXX.CMD File Commands

In a REXX procedure, anything not recognized as an instruction, assignment, or label is considered a command. The statement recognized as a command is treated as an expression. The expression is evaluated first, then the result is passed to the operating system.

The following example, COPYLIST.CMD, shows how a command is treated as an expression. Note how the special character (*) is put in quotation marks. COPYLIST.CMD copies files from drive A to drive B.

/* Issuing a command from a procedure.  This example copies  */
/* all files that have an extension of.LST from              */
/* drive A to drive B.                                       */
SAY
COPY "a:*.lst b:"           /* This statement is treated as  */
                            /* an expression.                */
                            /* The result is passed to OS/2. */
EXIT

┴╓: In the preceding example, the whole OS/2 command except for COPY is in quotation marks for the following reasons:

o

If the colon (:) were not in quotation marks, the REXXSAA interpreter would treat a: and b: as labels.
o
If the asterisk (*) were not in quotation marks, the REXXSAA interpreter would attempt to multiply the value of a: by .LST.
o
It is also acceptable to include the entire OS/2 command in quotation marks so that "COPY a:*.LST b:" is displayed.

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