Using QMF

Guidelines for writing linear procedures

Keep the following guidelines in mind when you write linear procedures:

• A linear procedure can contain QMF commands, comment lines beginning with two hyphens (--), and blank lines.
• Use the complete names for commands, options, and values, rather than the abbreviated names.
• Do not specify a command of more than 2,000 characters (or the equivalent in DBCS). QMF stops running a procedure when it finds a command of over 2,000 characters.
• You can include comments on the same line as a command, but place them after the command.
• If a command spans more than one line, type + at the beginning of the continuation line. + is the continuation character. For example:

  RUN QUERY (&&VAR1 = 'THIS IS A VALUE FOR VAR1.'  &&VAR2 = 'THIS
  +IS A VALUE FOR VAR2.'
  

  QMF does not insert a space between the last character of the first line and the first character of the second line, unless either of the following is true:

  • The command includes an open quote
  • You included a space at the end of the first line

  You cannot use a continuation character in a comment line, command keyword, or substitution variable name. You can use a continuation character in a substitution variable value, if you enclose the value in single quotes.

  You can type comments and blank lines between continuation lines.