Understanding Syntax Rules

To create or edit PeopleSoft Data Mover scripts, follow these syntax rules to ensure that the commands run successfully.

Delimiters

With the exception of double-hyphen (--) comment statements, every command statement must be followed by a delimiter.

Valid delimiters are:

• Semicolon (;)

  A semicolon can appear on the same line as the command itself, or by itself on the line immediately following a command statement. For example, the following two examples of the semicolon delimiter are valid:

     SET OUTPUT c:\temp\abc.dat;
     SET LOG c:\temp\new.log
     ;

• Forward slash (/)

  This delimiter can be used only on a line by itself, in column 1, on a line immediately following a command statement. For example:

     IMPORT *
     /

Multiline Statements

With the exception of double-hyphen (--) comment statements, statements can span multiple lines. For example:

EXPORT absence_hist
   WHERE absence_type = 'A';

Multiline Comments

A double-hyphen (--) comment statement does not require a delimiter termination. However, each statement can't span more than one line. Be sure to add a space after the double hyphen before you start the comment. For example:

Correct:

-- This script imports the information stored in
-- the ABC.DAT file.

Incorrect:

--This script imports the information stored in
the ABC.DAT file.

White Space

Command statements can contain any amount of white space between items.

Case Sensitivity

Statement text is not case-sensitive. For example,

IMPORT * 

is equivalent to

import *

String Constants

String constants are case-sensitive and must be surrounded by single quotation marks. For example, 'ABC' is treated differently than 'Abc' or 'abc'.

Record Names and Table Names

In PeopleSoft Data Mover, when a record name needs to be specified as one of the elements in the command statement syntax, as in an IMPORT statement, you can specify either the record name or the corresponding table name. For example, the following IMPORT statements are equivalent:

Correct:

   IMPORT job;

Correct:

   IMPORT ps_job;

However, when a table name is required for one of the elements in the command statement syntax, you must use the table name, not the record name. For example:

Correct:

   IMPORT job  AS  ps_process;

Incorrect:

   IMPORT job  AS  process;