Excerpted from message dated 10-30-94, Alfred Dayton to Murray Lesser:

AD> -=> Quoting Murray Lesser to Jonathan Markevich <=-
  >
  > ML> My only complaint with REXX is that it doesn't have a real GOTO.
  >
AD>    Pardon my novice intrusion. I have "converted" (read, copyied)
  >    some former Dos batch files containing GOTO's into OS/2 *.CMD
  >    form and these seem to still function correctly. Did I just
  >    (dumb)luck out or is there an seudo GOTO in REXX?

Alfred--

    Well, you might call it dumb luck, but maybe you are smarter than
you think.  OS/2 has two kinds of CMD files.  If you just changed the
extension on a DOS BAT file to CMD, and if it doesn't contain any DOS
batch commands that don't operate under OS/2 (I'm not sure there are
any), it will run as written as an OS/2 batch file.  Therefore, if the
use of GOTO was correct in the DOS batch file, it would work the same
under OS/2.  You would not be running a REXX program.
    
    OS/2 recognizes that a CMD file is really a REXX file only if the
first line in the file is a REXX comment.  The rest must be written in
REXX, not as a batch file, or you will get lots of syntax errors and the
program won't run.  If you can stand on-line books, check into the "REXX
information" "book" in the "Information" folder. 
This INF file contains
excerpts from two IBM manuals: "Procedures Language/2: REXX Reference,
version 2" (IBM part no. 10G6268; $15[US]) and "Procedures Language/2:
REXX User's Guide" (#10G6269 [$10]).  Both of these are available from
IBM PCT Books (the last time I called them, the phone number was
800-426-7282).  IMHO, you can't spend a better $25 (plus tax) than this
if you are a complete stranger to REXX.  And even if you are a practiced
REXX writer, I think you should own the "Reference" manual.

    With a little practice, you will find that REXX programs can do
more, faster, than can "batch" programs.

    Good luck.

               --Murray
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 * MR/2 2.12 #120 * Quoth the raven: "Have a Good Day"
                                 
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