Syntaxes

The term syntax is global and indicates the way to use a product function.

For example, it can be used to describe a language instruction or a command-line tool:

CALL function ( [ parameter [,...] ]  )
   [ RETURNING variable [,...] ]

Language keywords are written in uppercase.

Variable elements in a syntax definition are written in italics.

Wildcard characters in syntax definitions are marked with an underscore and used to indicate elements that can either repeat, be mandatory or optional:

Table 1. Wildcard characters
Wildcards Description
[ e ] Square brackets indicate an optional element in the syntax.
[ e1 | e2 ... ] Square brackets with pipe indicate an optional element to be selected from the list.
{ e1 | e2 ... } Curly brackets with pipe separator indicate a mandatory element to be selected from the list.
[...] A sign made of square brackets with three dots indicate that the previous element can appear more than once.
[,...] A sign made of square brackets with a comma followed by three dots indicate that the previous element can appear more than once, and must be separated by a comma.