Terminating Command Syntax

When you code a Maintain Data command, you terminate its syntax using one of the following:

• A semicolon (;). For most commands that can be terminated with a semicolon, the semicolon is optional. Even when it is optional, supplying it is recommended.

  Coding suggestion: Supplying optional semicolons is preferable, because if you omit them, when you invoke functions in that procedure, you must do so using the COMPUTE or PERFORM commands. By supplying optional semicolons in a procedure, you can invoke functions more directly, by simply specifying their names. Supplying optional semicolons is also preferable because if you supply them in a procedure, you can code assignment statements more succinctly by omitting the COMPUTE keyword.

  For example, the following NEXT command, assignment statement, and invocation of the DisplayEditForm function are all terminated with semicolons:

  FOR ALL NEXT CustID INTO CustOrderStack;
  EditFlag = CustOrderStack().Status;
  DisplayEditForm();

• An end keyword. Some commands, such as BEGIN, CASE, and REPEAT, bracket a block of code. You indicate the end of the block by supplying the appropriate END keyword (for example, ENDBEGIN, ENDCASE, or ENDREPEAT).

  In the following example, the CASE command is terminated with an ENDCASE keyword:

  CASE UpdateAcct
  UPDATE SavingsAcct FROM TransactionStack;
  IF FocError NE 0 THEN TransErrorLog();
  ENDCASE

Most commands use one of these methods (a semicolon or an end keyword) exclusively, as described for each command in Command Reference.