Notation conventions for methods

Notation conventions for methods

These conventions apply primarily to the syntax for method invocation and the argument descriptions in the reference sections for individual class methods.

• Method names are in mixed case with initial and internal capital letters. User Language keywords and variable name references are also in mixed case. This mixed-case convention is adhered to in text and syntax; it is not strictly adhered to in code examples. For more information about mixed-case User Language, see Mixed-case User Language.

• In syntax, method arguments are required unless otherwise stated. Omitting a mandatory argument results in a compilation error. Optional arguments are enclosed in brackets ([ ]) in syntax and are described with the word "optional."

• Some method arguments may be passed by name; they are specified with a following equal sign (=) in method syntax diagrams. For arguments described as "name allowed" (or "name required"), you may specify (or must specify) the argument name along with the argument value when you invoke the method. You specify such argument name and value pairs in the form:

  methodname( argName=argValue )

Whether an argument name is a "named parameter" is declared for the method within the class definition with the NameAllowed or NameRequired keyword.

• Many functions that return a result may also be invoked by the keyword Call. The descriptions of such functions say that they are "callable" and display a bracketed %variable and equality sign in syntax (for example, [%name = ]). For Subroutines, which are always callable, the Call keyword is optional.

• Methods are non-shared unless otherwise identified. A shared method is recognizable by the %(classname): notation preceding the method name in the method syntax, which implies that the method need not operate on a particular object. Using the class name in this way denotes that the method is shared, and it models one way you can invoke the method. You can also invoke shared methods using the %objectVariable: notation used by non-shared, or instance, methods. In this case, %objectVariable is used to identify the class to which the method belongs, not that the method operates on %objectVariable (note that %objectVariable may be null for a shared method invocation).