SPSS® 12.0 Command Syntax Reference

Commands 5
before processing. All user specifications, including labels and data values, preserve
upper and lower case.
• Spaces can be added between specifications at any point where a single blank is allowed.
In addition, lines can be broken at any point where a single blank is allowed. There are
two exceptions: the END DATA command can have only one space between words, and
string specifications on commands such as TITLE, SUBTITLE, VARIABLE LABELS, and
VALUE LABELS can be broken across two lines only by specifying a + between string segments
(see “String Values in Command Specifications” on p. 7).
• The first word of a command can be abbreviated to a minimum of three letters provided
no duplicates result. For example, AGGREGATE can be abbreviated to AGG, but
COMPUTE can only be abbreviated to COMP to avoid confusion with COMMENT. A very
small number of commands can duplicate an internal command when abbreviated to three
characters (for example, LIST) and at least four characters should be used. For internal
command structure, DATA LIST cannot be abbreviated.
• If the first word of a multiple-word command has a duplicate (for example, FILE LABEL
and FILE TYPE), the first word cannot be abbreviated.
• All keywords after the first command word can be abbreviated to three characters. For
example, ADD VAL LAB is a valid abbreviation for ADD VALUE LABELS, and EXA VAR=varlist
is valid for EXAMINE VARIABLES=varlist. END DATA is an exception. You must spell both
command keywords in full; END DAT is not a valid abbreviation for END DATA.
• Three-character truncation does not apply to INFO command specifications. Spell out all
keywords in full. For procedure names specified on INFO, spell out the first word in full
and subsequent words through at least the first three characters.
Running Commands
You can run commands in either batch (production) or interactive mode. In batch mode, commands
are read and acted upon as a batch, so the system knows that a command is complete
when it encounters a new command. In interactive mode, commands are executed immediately,
and you must use a command terminator to tell SPSS when a command is complete.
Interactive Mode
The following rules apply to command specifications in interactive mode:
• Each command ends with a command terminator. The default command terminator is a
period. It is best to omit the terminator on BEGIN DATA, however, so that inline data is
treated as one continuous specification.
• The command terminator must be the last nonblank character in a command.
• Commands can begin in any column of a command line and continue for as many lines
as needed. The exception is the END DATA command, which must begin in the first column
of the first line after the end of data.
• The maximum length of any command line is 80 characters, including the prompt and the
command terminator.