EXEC 2 is an interpreted, command procedure control, computer scripting language used by the EXEC 2 Processor originally supplied with the CMS component of the IBM Virtual Machine/System Product (VM/SP) operating system.[1]
Relation to EXEC
editEXEC 2 is mostly compatible[2] with CMS EXEC but EXEC 2 scripts must begin with an &TRACE statement. Some EXEC statements and predefined variables do not exist in EXEC 2, although in some cases there are analogs. There are some minor differences in some statements and predefined functions.
EXEC 2 has the following enhancements:[3]
- There is no 8-byte restriction on token length.[4]
- Statements can be up to 255 characters long.
- EXEC 2 can issue commands to subcommand environments as well as CMS and CP.
- EXEC 2 has additional built-in functions.
- EXEC 2 has user-defined functions.
- EXEC 2 commands may include subroutines and functions.
- EXEC 2 has extra debugging facilities.
- CMS programs can manipulate EXEC 2 variables.
Some statemts of EXEC are not supported in EXEC 2, including:
- &BEGSTACK ALL
- &CONTROL
- &EMSG
- &END
- &GOTO TOP
- &HEX
- &PUNCH
- &SPACE
- &TIME
Some predefined variables of EXEC are not defined in EXEC2:
- &*
- &$
- &DISKX
- &DISK*
- &DISK?
- &DOS
- &EXEC
- &GLOBAL
- &GLOBALn
- &READFLAG
- &TYPEFLAG
XEDIT Macros
editXEDIT Macros are files with filetype XEDIT, whose contents are written using the syntax of CMS EXEC, EXEC 2 or REXX.[5] Like regular EXEC 2 "EXEC" command files, they begin with a "&TRACE" statement,[5] to distinguish them from CMS EXEC files.
History
editWritten in the 1970s[6] and formally introduced for CMS with VM/SP Release 1, EXEC 2 was preceded by CMS EXEC and superseded by REXX.
All three command interpreters—CMS EXEC, EXEC 2 and REXX — continue to be supported by z/VM.
References
edit- ^ Varian, Melinda. "VM AND THE VM COMMUNITY: Past, Present, and Future" (PDF). Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ "Appendix A: CMS EXEC and EXEC 2 Relationship" (PDF). IBM Virtual Machine/System Product: EXEC 2 Reference - Program Number 5664-167 - Release 2 (PDF). Program Product. IBM. pp. 48–55. SC24-5219-1. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ IBM Corporation. "EXEC 2 Processor and CMS EXEC Processor". Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ "EXEC 2 Processor and CMS EXEC Processor". IBM.
- ^ a b EXEC 2 Reference (PDF). p. 92. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
- ^ "EXEC 2".