Statement syntax

This page summarizes SOUL syntax and conventions, which are discussed in more detail throughout this wiki. The SOUL statements are listed in alphabetical order. Many of the section titles or syntax blocks contain links to the wiki page describing the statement or syntax phrase. A later section provides other SOUL syntax information, including links to information about the "tokens" of SOUL, such as names in SOUL.

All SOUL statements can be used between a Begin (or More) command and an End statement.

External Call Facility (ECF) statements are listed under External.

Various other Model 204 commands also have effects on the results of a SOUL request.

The following notations prefix some of the statements in the presentation of the SOUL syntax:

* ** + ++ C

See the notation conventions section for an explanation of these usages, as well as other general comments about understanding the syntax of SOUL.

 

Add

(**)	Add fieldname = {value | (expression)}

Add lob-fieldname=Buffer,position,length [Reserve n [Bytes]]

Array

Array [arrayname] Occurs {n | Unknown} Depending On {itemname | %variable} [After {itemname | arrayname} | At {position | itemname | imagename1 | arrayname}]

Assert

Assert cond [, [Snap] [Info info] [Continue] ]

where cond is, like an If statement, the condition(s) being asserted as true. The statement options indicate how to respond to an assertion failure.

Audit

Audit print-specifications

Audit All Fieldgroup Information (AAFGI)

(**)	{AAFGI | Audit All Fieldgroup Information} [lob-option] [CtoFields]

Audit All Information

{Audit All Information | AAI} [CtoFields]

Backout

Backout

BYPASS

BYPASS [PENDING STATEMENT]

CALL

CALL {label | subname [([expression | %variable | [LIST] listname] [,...])]}

Change

(**)	Change fieldname [(subscript)] [= value |(expression)] To (newvalue |(expression))

Change lob-fieldname,position1,length To Buffer,position2,length[Reserve n [Bytes]]

CLEAR

Clear {[[All | Temp | ListFdst | Position] [Global]] Objects | Globals | Global {Image | Screen | Menu | List | Foundset | Position [Perm | Temp]} {'objectname' | %variable}}

CLEAR LIST

(*)	CLEAR LIST listname

CLEAR ON

CLEAR ON {ATTENTION | ERROR | FIELD CONSTRAINT CONFLICT | FIND CONFLICT | RECORD LOCKING CONFLICT | MISSING FILE | MISSING MEMBER}

CLEAR TAG

CLEAR TAG {screenname | %screenname:inputname}

Close

Close {Dataset | External} {ext-filename | %variable} | [External] Terminal

CLOSE PROCESS

(+C)	CLOSE PROCESS {cid | processname | %variable} [SYNCLEVEL | FLUSH | %variable]

CLOSE PROCESS {cid | processname | %variable} [SYNCLEVEL | CONFIRM | FLUSH | ERROR | %variable]

Commit

Commit [Release]

Confirm

(+)	Confirm {cid | processname | %variable} REQSEND %variable

Confirmed

(+)	Confirmed {cid | processname | %variable}

CONTINUE

CONTINUE

COUNT OCCURRENCES OF

(**)	COUNT OCCURRENCES OF fieldname

COUNT RECORDS

COUNT RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname}

Declare

[Declare] declaration

where declaration is one of the following:

• Label labelname [Global | Common]
• List listname
  [In [File | [Perm | Temp] Group]] name]
  At location [Global | Common]
• Image block:

  [Declare] Image imagename [Namesave] [global | Common]
  imageComponent
  [imageComponent] ... [Image imagename2 [Namesave] [At {itemname | imagename | arrayname}]
  imageComponent
  [imageComponent] ... ] ...
  End Image

  where global is:

  Global [Permanent | Temporary]
  | [Permanent | Temporary] Global

• Menu block:

  [Declare] Menu menuName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common] menuLine menuLine ... End Menu

  Menu statement, referring to a menu defined elsewhere in a Menu block:

  [Declare] Menu menuName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common]

• Screen block:

  [Declare] Screen screenName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common] screenLine screenLine ... End Screen

  Screen statement, referring to a screen defined earlier in a Screen block:

  [Declare] Screen screenName Common

• %variable [Is] {Fixed [Dp n] | Float} [Array (d1 [,d2 [,d3]])]
  [Initial(numeric-expression)] [Static] [Common]
• %variable [Is] String [Len n] [Dp {n | *}] [Array (d1 [,d2[,d3]])]
  [No Field Save] [Common]
  [Initial('EBCDIC-string' | expression)] [Static]
• Subroutine subname
  [(type [Input | Output | Input Output] [,...])]

  where type is one of the following:

  • Scalar %variable of the following format:

    {String [Len] n [DP {n | *}] | [Fixed [Dp n] | Float]}

  • Array %variable of the following format:

    {String [Len n] [Dp [n | *}] [Array (* [,*[,*]]) [No Field Save]]
    | [Fixed [Dp n] | Float] [Array (* [,*[,*]])]}

  • A list of records of the following format:

    [List] [In {File | [Perm | Temp] Group} name]

DEFAULT CURSOR

DEFAULT CURSOR [READ | REREAD | PRINT] {ITEMID n | itemname | ROW n COLUMN m}

DEFAULT

DEFAULT {TITLE | PROMPT | INPUT [DEBLANK | NODEBLANK] [PAD WITH 'c'] [LEN m [DP [k | *}]] [UPCASE | NOCASE] | [TAG [attributes] [WITH 'c']} [[READ] attributes] [REREAD attributes] [PRINT attributes] DEFAULT SKIP n POSITIONS[S] [INITIAL {NULL | character | BLANK}] DEFAULT [TYPE] {STRING | BINARY | PACKED | ZONED | FLOAT | EFORMAT} {LEN {n | UNKNOWN} | BITS n | DIGITS n} [DP {k | *}] [BP n] [SIGNED | UNSIGNED] [PAD {BLANK | character | NULL}] [STRIP | NOSTRIP] [JUSTIFY {LEFT | RIGHT}] [INITIAL {BLANK | ZERO | NULL | literal}]

DELETE

(**)	DELETE fieldname [(subscript)] [= value | (expression)]

(**)	DELETE FIELDGROUP [fieldgroupname] [(subscript)] [= value | (expression)]

DELETE EACH

(**)	DELETE EACH fieldname

DELETE RECORD

(**)	DELETE RECORD

DELETE RECORDS

DELETE [ALL] RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname}

END BLOCK

END BLOCK label

End

END {FIND | IF | FOR | ON | REPEAT | STORE | SUBROUTINE} [label] END {ARRAY | IMAGE | MENU | SCREEN} End [MORE | NORUN | USE]...

END UPDATE

END UPDATE

External

External { Call callTerms | Delete deleteTerms | Load loadTerms | Module moduleTerms | Name nameTerms | Start startTerms | Stop stopTerms }

FILE RECORDS

FILE RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname} UNDER fieldname = {value | (expression)}

Find Records

(*)	{FIND [[ALL] RECORDS] | FD } [IN label | ON [LIST] listname] [FOR WHICH | WITH] retrieval-conditions

Find And Reserve

(*)	{FIND AND RESERVE [[ALL] RECORDS] | FDR} [IN label | ON [LIST] listname] [FOR WHICH | WITH] retrieval-conditions

Find Values Of (FDV)

label:[In { File filename | Group groupname } ] { Find [All] Values Of | FDV } fieldname [From value1 | (expression1)] [To value2 | (expression2)] [(Not) Like pattern] [(Not) Value In value_set]

FIND AND PRINT COUNT

(*)	{Find And Print Count | FPC} [retrieval-conditions]

Find Without Locks

(*)	{Find Without Locks [[ALL] Records] | FDWOL} [In label | On [LIST] listname] [For Which | With] retrieval-conditions

FLUSH PROCESS

FLUSH PROCESS {cid | processname | %variable}

FOR EACH OCCURRENCE

(**)	FOR {EACH | k} {OCCURRENCE | OCCURRENCES} OF fieldname

For Each Record

(*)	For {Each | n} {Record | Records} [In label | On [List] listname] [In [Ascending | Descending] [Sortkey] Order [By [Each] fieldname]] [From {value1 | (expression1)}] [To {value2 | (expression2)}] [By {%variable | literal}] [Optimizing FNV] [{Where | With} retrieval-conditions]

Note: For retrieval-conditions, see Retrieval condition syntax, below.

FOR EACH VALUE OF

(*)	FOR {EACH | k} {VALUE | VALUES} OF fieldname [FROM {value1 | (expression1)}] [TO {value2 | (expression2)}] [[NOT] LIKE pattern] [IN [ASCENDING | DESCENDING] [CHARACTER | NUMERICAL] [RIGHT-ADJUSTED] ORDER]

FOR EACH VALUE IN

FOR {EACH | k} {VALUE | VALUES} IN label

FOR RECORD NUMBER

(*)	FOR RECORD NUMBER {value | (expression)}

FOR RECORD NUMBER IN

FOR RECORD NUMBER {value | IN label} [OPTIMIZING FNV]

For %var From %exp1 To %exp2 By %exp3

For %variable From exp1 To exp2 [By exp3]

Note: The By clause, when omitted, defaults to a value of 1.

Identify

Identify { [Image] imagename | %imagename:itemname Len {n | %variable} | {%imagename:arrayname | %imagename:itemname} Occurs {n | %variable} }

If...Then...ElseIf...Else

(C)	If expression Then [statement] [statement] ... [ ElseIf expression Then [statement] [statement] ... ] ... [ Else [statement] [statement] ... ] End If

Image

Image block:

[Declare] Image imagename [Namesave] [global | Common] imageComponent [imageComponent] ... [Image imagename2 [Namesave] [At {itemname | imagename | arrayname}] imageComponent [imageComponent] ... ] ... End Image where global is: Global [Permanent | Temporary] | [Permanent | Temporary] Global

INCLUDE

(*, C)

INCLUDE procedurename

INPUT

INPUT inputname [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | [LEN m] DP {k | *}]] [UPCASE | NOCASE] [DEFAULT 'value'] [DEBLANK | NODEBLANK] [PAD WITH 'c'] [REQUIRED | ALPHA | ALPHANUM | MUSTFILL | ONEOF literal [, literal]... | [NUMERIC] [RANGE lo [TO] hi [AND lo [TO] hi] ...] | VERIFY 'characters']... [[READ] attributes] [REREAD attributes] [PRINT attributes] [TAG [attributes] [WITH 'c']] [ITEMID n]

INSERT

INSERT fieldname [(subscript)] = {value | (expression)}

Invite

(+)	Invite {cid | processname | %variable} [SYNCLEVEL | FLUSH | CONFIRM]

IS

itemname IS [TYPE] {STRING | BINARY | PACKED | ZONED | FLOAT | EFORMAT} {LEN {n | UNKNOWN} | BITS n | DIGITS n | TO position} [DP {k | *}] [BP n] [SIGNED | UNSIGNED] [PAD {BLANK | character | NULL}] [STRIP | NOSTRIP] [ALIGN] [JUSTIFY {LEFT | RIGHT}] [INITIAL {BLANK | ZERO | NULL | value}] [AFTER {itemname | arrayname} | AT {position | itemname | imagename1 | arrayname}] [OCCURS {n [DEPENDING ON {itemname | %variable}] | UNKNOWN}]

JUMP TO

JUMP TO label JUMP TO (label1 [, label2] ...) expression

Loop End

Loop End

Loop Next

Loop Next

MAX PFKEY

MAX PFKEY n

Menu

Menu block: [Declare] Menu menuName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common] menuLine menuLine ... End Menu Menu statement, referring to a menu defined elsewhere in a Menu block: [Declare] Menu menuName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common]

MODIFY

MODIFY {%menuname:itemname | %screenname:itemname} [TO] attributes [[FOR] {ALL | READ | REREAD | TAB | PRINT}]

MODIFY BUFFER

MODIFY BUFFER [SIZE=n | %variable [PRESERVE | NOPRESERVE]] [FILL [X'nn'] | CLEAR]

NEW PAGE

(C)

NEW PAGE

Note

(**)	Note {fieldname [(subscript)]}

Note 'string'

On

On {Attention | Error | Field Constraint Conflict | Find Conflict | Missing File | Missing Member | Record Locking Conflict} statements End On [label]

Open

Open { [Dataset | External] {ext-filename | %variable} | [External] {Terminal | %variable} } For {Input [Output] | Output [Input] | InOut} [Password {value | %variable}]

(C)	Open[C] [File | [Perm | Temp] Group] {name [At {location | %variable | =}] | %variable} [Password {value | %variable}]

OPEN PROCESS

OPEN PROCESS {processname | %variable} [CID {name | %variable}]

(+)	OPEN PROCESS {processname | %variable} [CID {name | %variable}] {outbound-options | inbound-options}

where outbound-options are:

• [AT DESTINATION] [WITH] [USERID {%variable | 'string'}]
• [PASSWORD {%variable | 'string'}]
• [{ACCOUNT | PROFILE {%%variable | 'string'}]
• [INITIAL {DATA 'string' | DATA %variable | IMAGE imagename] ...]

and inbound-options are:

• ACCEPT [INITIAL {DATA %variable | IMAGE image} ...]

Pause

Pause [n | %variable]

PLACE RECORD ON

(**)	PLACE RECORD ON [LIST] listname

PLACE RECORDS

PLACE RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname1} ON [LIST] listname2

Position

POSITION {FOUNDSET foundsortset_name | LIST list_name} [AT] position_name

Note: Use the above form of the Position statement with For loop processing; see Position statement.

POSITION {ext-filename | %variable} AT KEY operator{value | %variable}

Note: Use the above form of the Position statement with external file processing using images; see Position statement.

PREPARE

PREPARE {[IMAGE] imagename | [MENU] menuname | [SCREEN] screenname}

Print

Print printSpecifications

Print All Fieldgroup Information (PAFGI)

(**)	{PAFGI | Print All Fieldgroup Information} [lob-option] [CtoFields]

Print All Information or PAI

(**)	{PAI | Print All Information} [Lob_Flod | Lob_Data | Lob_Short_Data | Lob_No_Data | Lob_None] [CtoFields] [Into array1, array2 [, array3] [From start] [Count ct] ]

PRINT MENU

PRINT [MENU] menuname [ALERT] [TITLE {'text' | %variable} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | LEN m] [attributes]]

PRINT SCREEN

PRINT SCREEN screenname [ALERT] [[WITH] CURSOR] [TITLE {'text' | %variable} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | LEN m] [attributes]]

Query Process

(+)	Query Process {cid | processname | %variable} options where options must be one or more of the following: STATE %variable PROCESSGROUP %variable REMOTEID %variable SYNCLEVEL %variable MODENAME %variable

Read Image

Read [Image] imagename From {ext-filename | Terminal | %variable} [Prompt {'text' | %variable}] [Next | Key operator {value | %variable}]

Read [Image] imagename From Buffer [Position={%pvariable | n}] [Maxlen={%lvariable | n}]

READ menuname

READ [MENU] menuname [ALERT] [TITLE ['text' | %variable} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | LEN m] [attributes]]

READ screenname

READ [SCREEN] screenname [ALERT] [NO REREAD] [ [WITH] CURSOR] [TITLE {'text' | %variable} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | LEN m] [attributes]]

RECEIVE IMAGE

RECEIVE {IMAGE imagename | %variable} FROM {cid | processname | %variable} [RESULT %variable]

(+)	RECEIVE {IMAGE imagename | %variable} FROM {cid | processname | %variable} RESULT %variable

Release All Records

Release All Records

Release Position

Release Position {ext-filename | %variable}

Release Records

Release Records {In label | On [List] listname}

Remember

(**)	Remember [Global] position_name [In foundsortset_name | On list_name]

REMOVE RECORD FROM

(**)	REMOVE RECORD FROM [LIST] listname

REMOVE RECORDS

REMOVE RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname} FROM [LIST] listname2

REPEAT

REPEAT [FOREVER | n TIMES | WHILE expression]

REREAD

REREAD [SCREEN] screenname [ALERT] [[WITH] CURSOR] [TITLE {'text' | %variable} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | LEN m] [attributes]]

RESET

RESET {HEADER | TRAILER} m

Rethrow

Rethrow exceptionName ...

RETRY

RETRY [PENDING STATEMENT]

RETURN

RETURN

Screen

Screen block:

[Declare] Screen screenName [Global [Permanent | Temporary] | Common] screenLine screenLine ... End Screen

Screen statement, referring to a screen defined earlier in a Screen block:

[Declare] Screen screenName Common

SEND

SEND {IMAGE imagename | 'string' | %variable} TO {cid | processname | %variable} [REQSEND %variable] [FLUSH] ⁽⁺⁾SEND {IMAGE imagename | 'string' | %variable} TO {cid | processname | %variable} [FLUSH | CONFIRM] [REQSEND %variable]

Send Error

(+)	Send Error To {cid | processname | %variable} Reqsend %variable

SET

SET {HEADER | TRAILER} m print-specifications

SetText

SetText %variable = string

SIGNAL PROCESS

SIGNAL PROCESS {cid | [processname | %variable} {nnn | %variable}

(+)	SIGNAL PROCESS {cid | [processname | %variable}

Sirius Case directive

(C)	Sirius Case {ToUpper | Leave}

SKIP LINES

SKIP n LINE[S]

Skip Position

[itemname Is] Skip n Position[s] [Initial {Null | character | Blank}]

SORT RECORDS

SORT [k] RECORDS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname} BY key [AND key] ...

where key is:

• key = fieldname
  [VALUE {[ASCENDING | DESCENDING]
  [CHARACTER | NUMERICAL] | RIGHT-ADJUSTED]} ...]

SORT RECORD KEYS

SORT [k] RECORD KEYS {IN label | ON [LIST] listname} BY key [AND key] ...

where key is:

• key = fieldname
  [VALUE {[ASCENDING | DESCENDING]
  [CHARACTER | NUMERICAL] | [RIGHT-ADJUSTED]} ...]

SORT VALUE IN

SORT VALUE IN label [IN [ASCENDING | DESCENDING] [CHARACTER | NUMERICAL] | [RIGHT-ADJUSTED] ORDER]

STOP

(C)	STOP [IF COUNT IN label EXCEEDS n]

STORE RECORD

(*)	STORE RECORD [sort or hash key value] fieldname1=[value1 | (expression1)] [fieldname2=(expression)] ... [THEN CONTINUE statement statement ...] END STORE

SUBROUTINE

SUBROUTINE SUBROUTINE subname [(formal-parameter [INPUT | OUTPUT | INPUT OUTPUT] [,...])]

where formal-parameter is one of the following:

• %variable [IS STRING [LEN n] [DP {n | *}] [ARRAY (*[,*[,*]]) [NO FS]]
  | IS {FIXED [DP n] | FLOAT} [ARRAY (*[,*[,*]])]]
• LIST listname [IN [FILE | [PERM | TEMP] GROUP] name]

TAG

TAG %screenname:inputname [attributes] [WITH 'c']

Test Receipt

(+)	Test [For] {Any Receipt Return %variable | Receipt {cid | processname | %variable}}

TITLE

TITLE {'text' | promptname} [AT [COLUMN] n] [TO [COLUMN] m | [LEN m] [DP {k | *}]] [DEFAULT 'value'] [[READ] attributes] [REREAD attributes] [PRINT attributes]

Trace

Trace printSpecifications

Note: The output of the Trace statement is controlled by the ULTRACE parameter.

TRANSFER

TRANSFER [CONTROL] TO PROCESS {processname | %variable} [WITH] [USERID {string | '%variable'}] [PASSWORD {variable | 'string'}] [ACCOUNT {%variable | 'string'}] [PASSING {IMAGE imagename | 'string' | %variable}]

UPDATE RECORD

UPDATE RECORD

VARIABLES ARE

VARIABLES ARE {FIXED [DP n] | FLOAT | STRING [LEN n] [DP {n | *}] | UNDEFINED}

Declare %variable

[DECLARE] %variable [IS] {FIXED [DP n] | FLOAT} [ARRAY (d1[,d2[,d3]])] [COMMON] [DECLARE] %variable [IS] STRING [LEN n] [DP {n | *}] [ARRAY (d1[,d2[d3]])] [NO FIELD SAVE] [COMMON] %variable [(subscript)] = expression

WAIT

(+)	WAIT [{n | %variable} SEC[S]] [FOR] {ANY RECEIPT RETURN %variable | RECEIPT {cid | processname | %variable}}

Write Image

Write [Image] imagename On [Buffer [Position=%pvariable | n] [Maxlen={%lvariable | n}]] | {seq-filename | Terminal | %variable}

Other syntax

Names, numbers, literals, comments

• Names (for example, %variables, labels): see Model 204 naming conventions
• Other constructs: see Basic request structure (which also discusses some rules for statement labels)

Value specification syntax

For all User Language statements and retrieval conditions, wherever the term value appears in the syntax, it can be any of these:

• Literal number or string
• VALUE IN clause of the form:

  VALUE [IN] label

• %variable

Retrieval condition syntax

A Find or For Each Record Where statement can be followed by any number of retrieval conditions separated by an end of line or LINEND parameter character.

Conditions can be constructed as a series of phrases that are combined "in the usual way" with And, Or, Not, and parentheses (()):

[Not] phrase [{And | Or | Nor} [Not] phrase] ...

Where:

phrase can be constructed from these options:

• fieldname = [Not] value
• fieldname Like pattern
• fieldname Is [Not] {Present | Like 'pattern'}
• fieldname Is [Not] {[Numerically | Alphabetically]
  [Eq | = | Ne | ¬= | Greater Than | Gt | > | Less Than
  | Lt | < | Le | <= | Ge | >= | Before | After] value}
• fieldname Is [Not] {[Numerically | Alphabetically]
  {In Range [From | After] value1 {To | [And] Before}
  value2 | Between value1 And value2}
• File$ {filename | =}
• Find$ label
• List$ listname
• Location$ {location | =}
• Point$ value
• Sfge$ value
• Sfl$ value

where value can be:

• A literal number or string
• A %variable
• Value {(expression) | [In] label}

  label points to an existing value set. If an Eq Value In value_set clause, value set values are treated as Boolean OR, for example:

  field = value1 OR field = value2 OR....

  If an Ne Value In value_set clause, values are treated as Boolean AND:

  field <> value1 AND field <> value2 AND....

  See also Processing a VALUE IN clause.

Notes:

• The first character (¬) of the "not-equal" test (¬=) in the fourth of the items in the list of phrase options above is the EBCDIC "not sign," which has the hexadecimal value 5f.
• For a description of the pattern in the [Is] Like and Is Not clauses, see the syntax of Is Like patterns.
• In addition to the discussions in the subsections that follow, see Record retrievals for a comprehensive description of retrieval conditions.

Omitting repeated first words

If a sequence of phrases in a particular retrieval condition all have the same first word, that word can be omitted from the latter phrases. For example:

List$ A And Not List$ B

can be written:

List$ A And Not B

And:

x Is 13 Or x Is Less Than 7

can be written:

x Is 13 Or Is Less Than 7

Omitting duplicated equal signs

Duplicated equal signs can be omitted. For example, the expression:

a = 3 Or a = 5 Or a = 40

is equivalent to:

a = 3 Or 5 Or 40

Use of parentheses

Parentheses can be placed around any sequence of phrases to clarify the condition or force the evaluation to occur in a particular order. For example:

Not (a = 2 Or List$ y) a = 1 And (b = 2 OR c = 3)

Use of expressions

Expressions can be used in Find and For Each Record statements to provide the retrieval condition for the Point$, Sfl$, and Sfge$ conditions, as well as for the Eq Value clause:

Point$

Point$ Value(expression)

Where:

expression is a function call, string concatenation, arithmetic operation, SOUL construct, or Boolean expression. It is preceded by the keyword Value.

Example:

This example finds the first MA record on file, and then counts the number of records from this point in the file:

FD1: IN ICSCUST FPC STATE = MA END FIND FOR 1 RECORD IN FD1 PRINT 'CURREC = ' WITH $CURREC PRINT '>= POINT$' FD2: IN ICSCUST FPC POINT$ VALUE($CURREC) END FIND END FOR

Sfl$ and Sfge$

Sfl$ Value(expression)

Or:

Sfge$ Value(expression)

Where:

expression is a function call, string concatenation, arithmetic operation, SOUL construct, or Boolean expression. It is preceded by the keyword Value.

Example:

FOR %CT FROM 1 TO 10 IN EXPRESS STORE RECORD ($EDITN(%CT,'999')) ORD1 = (%REC WITH %CT) ORD2 = (%CT * 2) ORD4 = (%CT * 4) END STORE END FOR COMMIT FOR %CT FROM 1 TO 5 PRINT 'LESS THAN ' WITH %CT FD1: IN EXPRESS FPC SFL$ VALUE($EDITN(%CT,'999')) END FIND PRINT 'GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO ' WITH %CT FD2: IN EXPRESS FPC SFGE$ VALUE($EDITN(%CT,'999')) END FIND END FOR

Eq Value

fieldname Eq Value(expression)

Where:

expression is a function call, string concatenation, arithmetic operation, SOUL construct, or Boolean expression.

Example:

FD: IN FILE PEOPLE FD LAST EQ VALUE($READ('LAST NAME?') ) END FIND

Print specification syntax

A Print, Set, Audit, or Trace statement contains print specifications of the following form:

[term] [And | Tab | With]...[[term] [And | Tab | With] ...] ... [...]

Where:

term can be constructed as follows:

{'string' | %variable | Count In label | Occurrence In label | Value in term | function} [At [Column] m] [To [Column] n]

Or, if the statement is within a record loop:

{{Each | term} fieldname | *Record | *Id} [At [Column] m] [To [Column] n}

Note: For additional Print statement details regarding multiply occurring fields and field groups, see Print and Print n statements for fields.

Expression syntax

The following syntax can be used in:

• Assignment statements
• Conditional If statements and ElseIf clauses

  In the simplified syntax for an If statement, which is:

  If condition Then statements

  condition expands to the syntax described in this section.

• Computed Jump To statements
• Subscripts
• Function arguments
• A value in parenthesis in SOUL "DML" statements, for example:

  Add fieldname = (expression)

Syntax

{operand | (expression)} [operator {operand | (expression)}] ...

Where:

• operand can be constructed as follows:

  [+ | - | Not] {'string' | %variable | number | fieldname [(subscript)] Is [Not] Present | Count In label | Occurrence In label | Value In label | function}

• expression (Note: enclosed by parentheses) is a function call, string concatenation, arithmetic operation, SOUL construct, or Boolean expression. For further details, see Expressions.
• operator may be one of the following:

  +	=	EQ	And
  -	,=	NE	AndIf
  *	>	GT	Or
  /	<	LT	OrIf
  	>=	GE	With (Note: this can also be achieved via Implicit concatenation)
  	<=	LE	Is [Not] Present (Note: applied either to a field or to an optional or default method parameter)
  			Is [Not] Like

  Notes:

  • The first character (,) of the inequality test above is the EBCDIC "not sign," which has the hexadecimal value 5f.
  • For a description of the Is Like and Is Not clauses, see the syntax of Is Like patterns.
  • The AndIf and OrIf operators are called "short circuit", because, at a given precedence level, if the value of the conditional expression has been fully determined, the remainder at that level is not evaluated. For example:

    %sex eq 'M' and (%ht lt 5.2 orIf %ht gt 6.5)

    If the value of %ht is less than 5.2, the final comparison -- %ht gt 6.5 -- is never evaluated (that holds regardless of what had been coded as the final comparison).

    With the same value of %ht, if the Or operator had been used, then that final comparison is always evaluated.

  • For more information about operators, see Operators.

In clause syntax

The SOUL statements on this page whose syntax display is preceded by an asterisk (*) support an In clause.

The three basic forms of the In clause are:

In [Permanent | Temporary ] Group groupname Member [%member | [filename [At {location | =}]]

In file1 [,file2] ...

In {$Curfile | $Update}

The form In $Curfile can be used only within a record loop.

In Group Member limitations

In addition to the three basic forms of the In clause shown above, the In Group Member clause restricts the following statements to one member file in a group context:

• Clear List
• Find All Records (and its variants)
• Find All Values
• For Record Number (or FRN)
• Store Record

You cannot use an In Group Member clause with a For Each Record statement or with an Add, Change, or Delete Record statement. Only the previously listed statements call accept an In Group Member clause.

Using an In clause in a Begin...End block

The file name in the In clause used within a Begin...End block is resolved by the compiler. You can hard-code a file name or use some type of dummy string for the file name. Using a %variable for the file name is not allowed.

Subscript syntax

A subscript has the format:

Syntax

(subscript1 [,subscript2 [,subscript3]] )

Where:

subscript1, subscript2, and subscript3 can be any expression.

SOUL macros

There are additional facilities supporting SOUL macro statements. Macro statements allow code to be conditionally compiled.

As an example, in the following SOUL fragment, the Recordset object declaration would be for the file AVEBURY:

!def henge avebury ... %sites is object recordset in file ?!HENGE

Terminal display attributes

One or more of the following terminal display attributes can replace the term attribute in a full-screen formatting statement, if the display attribute is supported by the installation:

List of attributes

BLINK

BLUE

BRIGHT

DIM

GREEN

INV[IS[BLE]]

NOBLINK

NOREV[ERSE]

NOU[NDER]SCORE

PINK

PROT[ECTED]

RED

REV[ERSE]

TURQUOISE

[UNDER]SCORE

UNPROT[ECTED]

VIS[IBLE]

WHITE

YELLOW

Notation conventions

This page uses the following syntax notation conventions:

Syntax notation	Indicates that...
Single asterisk (*)	Statements can be preceded by an IN clause, if there is no reference to a previous set (label or list). See IN clause syntax for more discussion.
Two asterisks (**)	Construct can appear only within a record loop.
Plus sign (+)	Construct requires the optional Horizon feature.
Two plus signs (++)	Construct requires the optional User Language to Database 2 feature.
C	The (first) keyword of the statement is also a Model 204 command; the command's wiki page will be, for example, 'OPEN command'. Model 204 commands are listed alphabetically and documented in List of Model 204 commands.
Lowercase italic	Constructs are replaced with variable information.

• A field name (%%) variable can be used anywhere fieldname appears. The %%variable can contain its own subscript, separate from the field name subscript.

  Note: The subscript of an array element must be specified before a field name subscript.

• The lowercase constructs — retrieval-conditions, print-specifications, expression, subscript, attribute, and type — are discussed separately following the syntax summaries, beginning with Value specification syntax.
• For more Model 204 notation conventions, see Notation conventions.