IBM Tivoli NetView for z/OS Programming: Pipes - IBM notice

PIPE VAR and PIPE $VAR
252 Programming: Pipes
Termination Conditions
If specified as a first stage, VAR and $VAR terminate when the output stream is
disconnected or when it finishes processing. If specified as a subsequent stage,
VAR and $VAR terminate when the input stream is disconnected or when all
variables are set and the output stream is disconnected.
Operand Descriptions
(COMMON)
Specifies that the common global variable dictionary is accessed instead of
your personal variable dictionary.
(TASK)
Specifies that the task global variable dictionary is accessed instead of your
personal variable dictionary.
name
Specifies the name of the variable to read-from or write-to. Do not include an
ampersand (&) in the name (the ampersand is implied in the NetView
command list language). The name length can be up to 11 characters in the
command list environment and up to 31 characters in REXX and HLL except
when $VAR is used. When $VAR is used, the limits are 10 and 30, respectively.
Lowercase characters in the name are changed to uppercase before being
processed. The &1 - &31 variables as used in the NetView command list
language are not supported for use in the VAR stage. However, you can assign
these values to, or from, other named variables, that you can use in the VAR
stage.
The amount of variable names is unlimited.
(number)
Specifies the number invocations (generations) to refer back when setting the
variables. The number of generations refers to the current nesting level within
the REXX, PL/I, or C calling sequence.
(Number) must be zero (0) or greater, and less than or equal to the existing
number of generations. If (number) is greater than (0), the variables are in a
generation preceding the current generation. The specified generation can
precede the generation from which the PIPE command is issued, if such a
generation exists.
The default for (number) is zero (0).
Usage Notes
The following conditions apply to both VAR and $VAR stages:
v If (COMMON) or (TASK) is specified, VAR does not require the PIPE to be
issued from a procedure.
v When VAR is the first stage of a pipeline specification, the following conditions
apply:
– The maximum size of a message buffer output from the VAR stage is 32000
bytes. Message buffers exceeding 32000 bytes are truncated to 32000 bytes.
– In the REXX environment, if the variable specified on the VAR stage has not
been initialized, the output value is the variable name.
– For the NetView command list language and HLL environments, if the
variable specified on the VAR stage has not been initialized, the output value
is a null message (an automation internal function request with a single,
zero-length message buffer).