All the instructions can be entered either in UPPER or lower case characters.
Leave a space between each instruction, variable or reserved word. Some instructions require these spaces; however, in general, programs are much easier to read if the instructions are separated by spaces.
Each line may only contain one instruction. Conversely, an instruction may be written over several lines, as long as there is no break in a lexical element, making the "–" character the last character in the line. This does not apply to comments.
Example:
IF CUSTOMER_BALANCE < 0 OR -
PAYMENT_TERM > 35
SEND_MSG MSG0501
END
Instructions cannot exceed 5000 characters in length.
Comments may be entered on separate lines, starting the line with an asterisk (*). Leave a space after this asterisk to avoid any confusion with reserved words.
It is also possible to indicate a comment at the end of an instruction line by preceding it with /*.
Example:
IF COUNTRY CODE = 'FRA' /* Check department No.
PROCESS_PGM DEPARTMT_CHOICE DEPARTMT_CODE
END
To sum up, a comment can be identified by:
* or /* at the start of a line
/* at the end of an instruction.
Example:
* Check department No.
/* Check department No.
IF COUNTRY CODE = 'FRA' /* Check department No.