Using QMF

Guidelines for writing procedures with logic

Keep the following guidelines in mind when you write procedures with logic:

• A procedure with logic can contain QMF commands, REXX logic statements, and comment 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 a comma as a continuation character at the end of the first line. For example:

  "RUN QUERY MYQUERY (&&DEPT=38, ",
  "&&DIV='EASTERN'"
  

  Because this statement is a QMF command that is split into two lines, both lines are enclosed in quotes. The continuation character is placed at the end of the first line, outside the quotes.

  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 between continuation lines.