Control language (CL) uses the extended binary-coded decimal
interchange code (EBCDIC) character set.
For convenience in describing the relationship between characters
used in the control language and the EBCDIC character set, the following
control language categories contain the EBCDIC characters shown.
| Category |
Characters included |
| Alphabetic 1 |
26 letters (A through Z), $, #, and @3 |
| Numeric |
10 digits (0-9) |
| Alphanumeric 1,2 |
A through Z, 0 through 9, $, #, @3, period (.),
and underscore (_) |
| Special Characters |
All other EBCDIC characters |
Notes: - Lowercase letters (a through z) are accepted, but are generally
translated into the corresponding uppercase letters by the system.
No translation of lowercase letters is done for letters included within
a quoted character string or a comment. No translation is done for lowercase
letters specified for a value on a parameter that has the character
(*CHAR) or the path name (*PNAME) attribute for its TYPE parameter
and the mixed case (*MIXED) attribute for its CASE parameter in the
command definition.
- The underscore (_) is an alphanumeric connector that can be used
in i5/OS® CL to
connect words or alphanumeric characters to form a name (for example,
PAYLIB_01). This use of the underscore might not be valid in other
high-level languages.
- The $, #, and @ extended alphabetic characters are variant characters
across the EBCDIC CCSIDs. CL assumes CCSID 37 when processing CL commands
so $ is assumed to be X'5B', # is assumed to be X'7B'
and @ is assumed to be X'7C'. If your EBCDIC job CCSID is
not 37, you would have to use the character which maps to one of these
three hexadecimal code points.
|
The first three categories contain the characters that are allowed
in quoted and unquoted character strings, in comments, and in CL names,
such as in names of commands, labels, keywords, variables, and IBM® i objects. Special characters
in the last category can only be used in quoted character strings
and comments; they cannot be used in unquoted strings. However, some
have special syntactical uses when coded in the proper place in CL
commands.