filespec Specifies either the input device or the file for the preceding command, or the command procedure to be executed. The default file type is .COM. The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters are not allowed in the file specification. parameter[,...] Specifies from one to eight optional parameters to pass to the command procedure. The symbols (P1, P2, . . . P8) are assigned character string values in the order of entry. Setting bit 3 of DCL_CTLFLAGS to 1, specifies from one to sixteen optional parameters to pass to the command procedure. The symbols (P1, P2, . . . P16) are assigned character string values in the order of entry. If you clear the bit 3 of DCL_CTLFLAGS, the default parameters are set (that is, (P1, P2, . . . P8)). The symbols are local to the specified command procedure. Separate each parameter with one or more blanks. Use two consecutive quotation marks ("") to specify a null parameter. You can specify a parameter with a character string value containing alphanumeric or special characters, with the following restrictions: o The command interpreter converts alphabetic characters to uppercase and uses blanks to delimit each parameter. To pass a parameter that contains embedded blanks or literal lowercase letters, place the parameter in quotation marks. o If the first parameter begins with a slash (/), you must enclose the parameter in quotation marks (" "). o To pass a parameter that contains literal quotation marks and spaces, enclose the entire string in quotation marks and use two consecutive quotation marks within the string. For example, the command procedure TEST.COM contains the following line: $ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT P1 Enter the following at the DCL prompt ($): $ @TEST "Never say ""quit""" When the procedure TEST.COM executes, the parameter P1 is equated to the following string: Never say "quit" If a string contains quotation marks and does not contain spaces, the quotation marks are preserved in the string and the letters within the quotation marks remain in lowercase. For example, enter the following at the DCL prompt: $ @TEST abc"def"ghi When the procedure TEST.COM executes, the parameter P1 is equated to the following string: ABC"def"GHI To use a symbol as a parameter, enclose the symbol in single quotation marks (` ') to force symbol substitution. For example: $ NAME = "JOHNSON" $ @INFO 'NAME' The single quotation marks cause the value "JOHNSON" to be substituted for the symbol NAME. Therefore, the parameter "JOHNSON" is passed as P1 to INFO.COM.