Rexx

This article is about classic Rexx. For oRexx and ooRexx, seeObject Rexx.

Rexx(Restructured Extended Executor) is a programming language that can beinterpretedorcompiled.It was developed atIBMbyMike Cowlishaw.It is a structured,high-level programming languagedesigned for ease of learning and reading. Proprietary andopen sourceRexxinterpretersexist for a wide range of computing platforms;compilersexist for IBMmainframe computers.

Rexx

Paradigm	multiparadigm:procedural,structured
Designed by	Mike Cowlishaw
Developer	Mike Cowlishaw,IBM
First appeared	1979(1979)
Stable release	ANSIX3.274 / 1996(1996)
Typing discipline	Dynamic
Filename extensions	.cmd,.bat,.exec,.rexx,.rex, EXEC
Majorimplementations
VM/SP R3,TSO/E V2, SAAREXX,ARexx,BREXX, Regina,Personal REXX, REXX/imc
Dialects
NetRexx,Object REXX,nowooREXX,KEXX
Influenced by
PL/I,ALGOL,EXEC,EXEC 2
Influenced
NetRexx,Object REXX
Rexx Programmingat Wikibooks

Rexx is a full language that can be used as ascripting,macrolanguage, and application development language. It is often used for processing data and text and generating reports; this means that Rexx works well inCommon Gateway Interface(CGI) programming and is used for this purpose, like later languages such asPerl.Rexx is the primary scripting language in some operating systems, e.g.OS/2,MVS,VM,AmigaOS,and is also used as an internal macro language in some other software, such asSPF/PC,KEDIT,THEand theZOCterminal emulator. Additionally, the Rexx language can be used for scripting and macros in any program that uses Windows Scripting Host ActiveX scripting engines languages (e.g. VBScript and JScript) if one of the Rexx engines is installed.

Rexx is supplied with VM/SP Release 3 on up, TSO/E Version 2 on up, OS/2 (1.3 and later, where it is officially namedProcedures Language/2),AmigaOS Version 2on up,PC DOS(7.0or2000),ArcaOS,and Windows NT 4.0 (Resource Kit: Regina). REXX scripts for CMS share the filetype EXEC with EXEC and EXEC2, and the first line of the script specifies the interpreter to be used. REXX scripts for MVS maybe recognized by the low level qualifier EXEC or maybe recognized by context and the first line. REXX scripts for OS/2 share the filename extension.cmd with other scripting languages, and the first line of the script specifies the interpreter to be used. REXX macros for REXX-aware applications use extensions determined by the application. In the late 1980s, Rexx became the common scripting language forIBM Systems Application Architecture,where it was renamed "SAA Procedure Language REXX".

In mainframe programming, a Rexx script or command is sometimes referred to as anEXECin a nod to the CMS file type used forEXEC,EXEC 2and REXX scripts onCP/CMSand VM/370 throughz/VM.

Features

Rexx has the following characteristics and features:

• Simple syntax
• The ability to route commands to multiple environments
• The ability to support functions, procedures and commands associated with a specific invoking environment.
• A built-in stack, with the ability to interoperate with the host stack if there is one.
• Small instruction set containing just two dozen instructions
• Freeformsyntax
• Case-insensitive tokens, including variable names
• Character stringbasis
• Dynamic data typing,no declarations
• Noreserved keywords,except in local context
• No include file facilities
• Arbitrary numerical precision
• Decimal arithmetic,floating-point
• A rich selection of built-in functions, especially string and word processing
• Automatic storage management
• Crash protection
• Content addressable data structures
• Associative arrays
• Straightforward access to system commands and facilities
• Simple error-handling, and built-in tracing and debugger
• Few artificial limitations
• Simplified I/O facilities
• Unconventional operators
• Only partly supports Unix style command line parameters, except specific implementations
• Provides no basic terminal control as part of the language, except specific implementations
• Provides no generic way to include functions and subroutines from external libraries, except specific implementations

Rexx has just twenty-three, largely self-evident, instructions (such ascall,parse,andselect) with minimal punctuation and formatting requirements. It is essentially an almostfree-form languagewith only one data-type, the character string; this philosophy means that all data are visible (symbolic) and debugging and tracing are simplified.

Rexx's syntax looks similar toPL/I,but has fewer notations; this makes it harder to parse (by program) but easier to use, except for cases where PL/I habits may lead to surprises. One of the REXX design goals was theprinciple of least astonishment.

History

pre–1990

Rexx was designed and first implemented, inassembly language,as an 'own-time' project between 20 March 1979 and mid-1982 byMike Cowlishawof IBM, originally as ascripting programming languageto replace the languagesEXECandEXEC 2.It was designed to be amacroor scripting language for any system. As such, Rexx is considered a precursor toTclandPython.Rexx was also intended by its creator to be a simplified and easier to learn version of thePL/Iprogramming language. However, some differences from PL/I may trip up the unwary.

It was first described in public at the SHARE 56 conference in Houston, Texas, in 1981,where customer reaction, championed by Ted Johnston ofSLAC,led to it being shipped as an IBM product in 1982.

Over the years IBM included Rexx in almost all of its operating systems (VM/CMS,MVS TSO/E,IBM OS/400,VSE/ESA,AIX,PC DOS,andOS/2), and has made versions available forNovell NetWare,Windows,Java,andLinux.

The first non-IBM version was written forPC DOSby Charles Daney in 1984/5and marketed by the Mansfield Software Group (founded by Kevin J. Kearney in 1986).The first compiler version appeared in 1987, written for CMS by Lundin and Woodruff.Other versions have also been developed forAtari,AmigaOS,Unix(many variants),Solaris,DEC,Windows,Windows CE,Pocket PC,DOS,Palm OS,QNX,OS/2,Linux,BeOS,EPOC32/Symbian,AtheOS,OpenVMS,AppleMacintosh,andMac OS X.

TheAmigaversion of Rexx, calledARexx,was included with AmigaOS 2 onwards and was popular for scripting as well as application control. Many Amiga applications have an "ARexx port" built into them which allows control of the application from Rexx. One single Rexx script could even switch between different Rexx ports in order to control several running applications.

1990 to present

In 1990, Cathie Dager of SLAC organized the first independent Rexx symposium, which led to the forming of the REXX Language Association. Symposia are held annually.

Severalfreewareversions of Rexx are available. In 1992, the two most widely usedopen-sourceports appeared: Ian Collier's REXX/imc for Unix and Anders Christensen's Regina(later adopted by Mark Hessling) for Windows and Unix.BREXXis well known for WinCE and Pocket PC platforms, and has been "back-ported" to VM/370 andMVS.

OS/2 has a visual development system from WatcomVX-REXX.Another dialect was VisPro REXX from Hockware.

Portable Rexxby Kilowatt andPersonal Rexxby Quercus are two Rexx interpreters designed for DOS and can be run under Windows as well using a command prompt. Since the mid-1990s, two newer variants of Rexx have appeared:

• NetRexx:compiles toJavabyte-codevia Java source code; this has no reserved keywords at all, and uses the Java object model, and is therefore not generally upwards-compatible with 'classic' Rexx.
• Object REXX:anobject-orientedgenerally upwards-compatible version of Rexx.

In 1996American National Standards Institute(ANSI) published a standard for Rexx: ANSI X3.274–1996 "Information Technology – Programming Language REXX".More than two dozen books on Rexx have been published since 1985.

Rexx marked its 25th anniversary on 20 March 2004, which was celebrated at the REXX Language Association's 15th International REXX Symposium in Böblingen, Germany, in May 2004.

On October 12, 2004, IBM announced their plan to release theirObject REXXimplementation's sources under theCommon Public License.Recent releases of Object REXX contain an ActiveXWindows Scripting Host(WSH) scripting engine implementing this version of the Rexx language.

On February 22, 2005, the first public release of Open Object Rexx (ooRexx) was announced. This product contains a WSH scripting engine which allows for programming of the Windows operating system and applications with Rexx in the same fashion in whichVisual BasicandJScriptare implemented by the default WSH installation andPerl,Tcl,Pythonthird-party scripting engines.

As of January 2017REXX was listed in theTIOBE indexas one of the fifty languages in its top 100 not belonging to the top 50.

In 2019, the 30th Rexx Language Association Symposium marked the 40th anniversary of Rexx. The symposium was held in Hursley, England, where Rexx was first designed and implemented.

Toolkits

TheRexxUtiltoolkit is a package of functions that is available for most Rexx implementations and most host operating systems. RexxUtil is a package of file and directory functions, windowed I/O, and functions to access system services such as WAIT and POST.

Rexx/Tk, a toolkit for graphics to be used in Rexx programmes in the same fashion asTcl/Tkis widely available.

A Rexx IDE, RxxxEd, has been developed for Windows.RxSock for network communication as well as other add-ons to and implementations of Regina Rexx have been developed, and a Rexx interpreter for the Windows command line is supplied in most Resource Kits for various versions of Windows and works under all of them as well as DOS.

Spelling and capitalization

Originally the language was calledRex(Reformed Executor); the extra "X" was added to avoid collisions with other products' names. REX was originally all uppercase because the mainframe code was uppercase oriented. The style in those days was to have all-caps names, partly because almost all code was still all-caps then. For the product it became REXX, and both editions of Mike Cowlishaw's book use all-caps. The expansion toREstructured eXtended eXecutorwas used for the system product in 1984.

Syntax

Looping

The loop control structure in Rexx begins with aDOand ends with anENDbut comes in several varieties. NetRexx uses the keywordLOOPinstead ofDOfor looping, while ooRexx treatsLOOPandDOas equivalent when looping.

Conditional loops

Rexx supports a variety of traditional structured-programming loops while testing a condition either before (do while) or after (do until) the list of instructions are executed:

dowhile[condition]
[instructions]
end

dountil[condition]
[instructions]
end

Repetitive loops

Like most languages, Rexx can loop while incrementing an index variable and stop when a limit is reached:

doindex=start[tolimit][byincrement][forcount]
[instructions]
end

The increment may be omitted and defaults to 1. The limit can also be omitted, which makes the loop continue forever.

Rexx permits counted loops, where an expression is computed at the start of the loop and the instructions within the loop are executed that many times:

doexpression
[instructions]
end

Rexx can even loop until the program is terminated:

doforever
[instructions]
end

A program can break out of the current loop with theleaveinstruction, which is the normal way to exit ado foreverloop, or can short-circuit it with theiterateinstruction.

Combined loops

LikePL/I,Rexx allows both conditional and repetitive elements to be combined in the same loop:

doindex=start[tolimit][byincrement][forcount][whilecondition]
[instructions]
end

doexpression[untilcondition]
[instructions]
end

Conditionals

Testing conditions withIF:

if[condition]then
do
[instructions]
end
else
do
[instructions]
end

TheELSEclause is optional.

For single instructions,DOandENDcan also be omitted:

if[condition]then
[instruction]
else
[instruction]

Indentation is optional, but it helps improve the readability.

Testing for multiple conditions

SELECTis Rexx'sCASE structure,derived from theSELECT;formof thePL/ISELECTstatement. Like some implementations of CASE constructs in other dynamic languages, Rexx'sWHENclauses specify full conditions, which need not be related to each other. In that, they are more like cascaded sets ofIF-THEN-ELSEIF-THEN-...-ELSEcode than they are like the C or Javaswitchstatement.

select
when[condition]then
[instruction]orNOP
when[condition]then
do
[instructions]orNOP
end
otherwise
[instructions]orNOP
end

TheNOPinstruction performs "no operation", and is used when the programmer wishes to do nothing in a place where one or more instructions would be required.

TheOTHERWISEclause is optional. If omitted and no WHEN conditions are met, then the SYNTAX condition is raised.

Simple variables

Variables in Rexx are typeless, and initially are evaluated as their names, in upper case. Thus a variable's type can vary with its use in the program:

sayhello/* => HELLO */
hello=25
sayhello/* => 25 */
hello="say 5 + 3"
sayhello/* => say 5 + 3 */
interprethello/* => 8 */
drophello
sayhello/* => HELLO */

Compound variables

Unlike many other programming languages, classic Rexx has no direct support for arrays of variables addressed by a numerical index. Instead it providescompound variables.A compound variable consists of a stem followed by a tail. A.(dot) is used to join the stem to the tail. If the tails used are numeric, it is easy to produce the same effect as an array.

doi=1to10
stem.i=10-i
end

Afterwards the following variables with the following values exist:stem.1 = 9, stem.2 = 8, stem.3 = 7...

Unlike arrays, the index for a stem variable is not required to have an integer value. For example, the following code is valid:

i='Monday'
stem.i=2

In Rexx it is also possible to set a default value for a stem.

stem.='Unknown'
stem.1='USA'
stem.44='UK'
stem.33='France'

After these assignments the termstem.3would produce'Unknown'.

The whole stem can also be erased with the DROP statement.

dropstem.

This also has the effect of removing any default value set previously.

By convention (and not as part of the language) the compoundstem.0is often used to keep track of how many items are in a stem, for example a procedure to add a word to a list might be coded like this:

add_word:procedureexposedictionary.
parseargw
n=dictionary.0+1
dictionary.n=w
dictionary.0=n
return

It is also possible to have multiple elements in the tail of a compound variable. For example:

m='July'
d=15
y=2005
day.y.m.d='Friday'

Multiple numerical tail elements can be used to provide the effect of a multi-dimensional array.

Features similar to Rexx compound variables are found in many other languages (includingassociative arraysinAWK,hashesinPerland Hashtables inJava). Most of these languages provide an instruction to iterate over all the keys (ortailsin Rexx terms) of such a construct, but this is lacking in classic Rexx. Instead it is necessary to keep auxiliary lists of tail values as appropriate. For example, in a program to count words the following procedure might be used to record each occurrence of a word.

add_word:procedureexposecount.word_list
parseargw.
count.w=count.w+1/* assume count. has been set to 0 */
ifcount.w=1thenword_list=word_listw
return

and then later:

doi=1towords(word_list)
w=word(word_list,i)
saywcount.w
end

At the cost of some clarity it is possible to combine these techniques into a single stem:

add_word:procedureexposedictionary.
parseargw.
dictionary.w=dictionary.w+1
ifdictionary.w=1/* assume dictionary. = 0 */
thendo
n=dictionary.0+1
dictionary.n=w
dictionary.0=n
end
return

and later:

doi=1todictionary.0
w=dictionary.i
sayiwdictionary.w
end

Rexx provides no safety net here, so if one of the words happens to be a whole number less thandictionary.0this technique will fail mysteriously.

Recent implementations of Rexx, includingIBM's Object REXX and the open source implementations like ooRexx include a newlanguage constructto simplify iteration over the value of a stem, or over another collection object such as an array, table or list.

doioverstem.
sayi'-->'stem.i
end

In sum, compound variables provide a mechanism to create almost any kind of data structure in Rexx. These include lists or simple arrays, n-dimensional arrays, sparse or dense arrays, balanced or unbalanced trees, records, and more.

Keyword instructions

PARSE

ThePARSEinstruction is particularly powerful; it combines some useful string-handling functions. Its syntax is:

parse[upper]origin[template]

whereoriginspecifies the source:

• arg(arguments, at top level tail of command line)
• linein(standard input, e.g. keyboard)
• pull(Rexx data queue or standard input)
• source(info on how program was executed)
• value(an expression)with:the keywordwithis required to indicate where the expression ends
• var(a variable)
• version(version/release number)

andtemplatecan be:

• list of variables
• column number delimiters
• literal delimiters

upperis optional; if specified, data will be converted to upper case before parsing.

Examples

Using a list of variables as template

myVar="John Smith"
parsevarmyVarfirstNamelastName
say"First name is:"firstName
say"Last name is:"lastName

displays the following:

First name is: John
Last name is: Smith

Using a delimiter as template:

myVar="Smith, John"
parsevarmyVarLastName","FirstName
say"First name is:"firstName
say"Last name is:"lastName

also displays the following:

First name is: John
Last name is: Smith

Using column number delimiters:

myVar="(202) 123-1234"
parsevarMyVar2AreaCode57SubNumber
say"Area code is:"AreaCode
say"Subscriber number is:"SubNumber

displays the following:

Area code is: 202
Subscriber number is: 123-1234

A template can use a combination of variables, literal delimiters, and column number delimiters.

INTERPRET

The INTERPRET instruction evaluates its argument and treats its value as a Rexx statement. Sometimes INTERPRET is the clearest way to perform a task, but it is often used where clearer code is possible using, e.g.,value().

Other uses of INTERPRET are Rexx's (decimal) arbitrary precision arithmetic (including fuzzy comparisons), use of the PARSE statement with programmatic templates, stemmed arrays, and sparse arrays.

/* demonstrate INTERPRET with square(4) => 16 */
X='square'
interpret'say'X||'(4); exit'
SQUARE:returnarg(1)**2

This displays 16 and exits. Because variable contents in Rexx are strings, including rational numbers with exponents and even entire programs, Rexx offers to interpret strings as evaluated expressions.

This feature could be used to pass functions asfunction parameters,such as passing SIN or COS to a procedure to calculate integrals.

Rexx offers only basic math functions like ABS, DIGITS, MAX, MIN, SIGN, RANDOM, and a complete set of hex plus binary conversions with bit operations. More complex functions like SIN were implemented from scratch or obtained from third party externallibraries.Some external libraries, typically those implemented in traditional languages, did not support extended precision.

Later versions (non-classic) supportCALL variableconstructs. Together with the built-in functionVALUE,CALL can be used in place of many cases ofINTERPRET.This is a classic program:

/* terminated by input "exit" or similar */
doforever;interpretlinein();end

A slightly more sophisticated "Rexx calculator":

X='input BYE to quit'
dountilX='BYE';interpret'say'X;pullX;end

PULLis shorthand forparse upper pull.Likewise,ARGis shorthand forparse upper arg.

The power of the INTERPRET instruction had other uses. TheValour softwarepackage relied upon Rexx's interpretive ability to implement anOOPenvironment. Another use was found in an unreleasedWestinghouseproduct calledTime Machinethat was able to fully recover following a fatal error.

NUMERIC

saydigits()fuzz()form()/* => 9 0 SCIENTIFIC */
say999999999+1/* => 1.000000000E+9 */
numericdigits10/* only limited by available memory */
say999999999+1/* => 1000000000 */

say0.9999999999=1/* => 0 (false) */
numericfuzz3
say0.99999999=1/* => 1 (true) */
say0.99999999==1/* => 0 (false) */

say100*123456789/* => 1.23456789E+10 */
numericformengineering
say100*123456789/* => 12.34567890E+9 */

say53//7/* => 4 (rest of division)*/

	Calculates√2	Calculatese
code	numericdigits50 n=2 r=1 doforever/* Newton's method */ rr=(n/r+r)/2 ifr=rrthenleave r=rr end say"sqrt"n' = 'r	numericdigits50 e=2.5 f=0.5 don=3 f=f/n ee=e+f ife=eethenleave e=ee end say"e ="e
output	sqrt 2 = 1.414213562373095048801688724209698078569671875377	e = 2.7182818284590452353602874713526624977572470936998

SIGNAL

The SIGNAL instruction is intended for abnormal changes in the flow of control (see the next section). However, it can be misused and treated like theGOTOstatement found in other languages (although it is not strictly equivalent, because it terminates loops and other constructs). This can produce difficult-to-read code.

Error handling and exceptions

It is possible in Rexx to intercept and deal with errors and other exceptions, using the SIGNAL instruction. There are seven system conditions: ERROR, FAILURE, HALT, NOVALUE, NOTREADY, LOSTDIGITS and SYNTAX. Handling of each can be switched on and off in the source code as desired.

The following program will run until terminated by the user:

signalonhalt;
doa=1
saya
do100000/* a delay */
end
end
halt:
say"The program was stopped by the user"
exit

Asignalonnovaluestatement intercepts uses of undefined variables, which would otherwise get their own (upper case) name as their value. Regardless of the state of theNOVALUEcondition, the status of a variable can always be checked with the built-in functionSYMBOLreturning VAR for defined variables.

TheVALUEfunction can be used to get the value of variables without triggering aNOVALUEcondition, but its main purpose is to read and setenvironmentvariables, similar toPOSIXgetenvandputenv.

Conditions

ERROR

Positive RC from a system command

FAILURE

Negative RC for a system command (e.g. command doesn't exist)

HALT

Abnormal termination

NOVALUE

An unset variable was referenced

NOTREADY

Input or output error (e.g. read attempts beyond end of file)

SYNTAX

Invalid program syntax, or some other error condition

LOSTDIGITS

Significant digits are lost (ANSI Rexx, not in TRL second edition)

When a condition is handled bySIGNAL ON,theSIGLandRCsystem variables can be analyzed to understand the situation. RC contains the Rexx error code and SIGL contains the line number where the error arose.

Beginning with Rexx version 4 conditions can get names, and there's also aCALL ONconstruct. That's handy if external functions do not necessarily exist:

ChangeCodePage:procedure/* protect SIGNAL settings */
signalonsyntaxnameChangeCodePage.Trap
returnSysQueryProcessCodePage()
ChangeCodePage.Trap:return1004/* windows-1252 on OS/2 */

See also

• ISPF
• XEDIT
• Comparison of computer shells
• Comparison of programming languages

Further reading

• Callaway, Merrill.The ARexx Cookbook: A Tutorial Guide to the ARexx Language on the Commodore Amiga Personal Computer.Whitestone, 1992.ISBN978-0963277305.
• Callaway, Merrill.The Rexx Cookbook: A Tutorial Guide to the Rexx Language in OS/2 & Warp on the IBM Personal Computer.Whitestone, 1995.ISBN0-9632773-4-0.
• Cowlishaw, Michael.The Rexx Language: A Practical Approach to Programming.Prentice Hall, 1990.ISBN0-13-780651-5.
• Cowlishaw, Michael.The NetRexx Language.Prentice Hall, 1997.ISBN0-13-806332-X.
• Daney, Charles.Programming in REXX.McGraw-Hill, TX, 1990.ISBN0-07-015305-1.
• Ender, Tom.Object-Oriented Programming With Rexx.John Wiley & Sons, 1997.ISBN0-471-11844-3.
• Fosdick, Howard.Rexx Programmer's Reference.Wiley/Wrox, 2005.ISBN0-7645-7996-7.
• Gargiulo, Gabriel.REXX with OS/2, TSO, & CMS Features.MVS Training, 1999 (third edition 2004).ISBN1-892559-03-X.
• Goldberg, Gabriel and Smith, Philip H.The Rexx Handbook.McGraw-Hill, TX, 1992.ISBN0-07-023682-8.
• Goran, Richard K.REXX Reference Summary Handbook.CFS Nevada, Inc.,1997.ISBN0-9639854-3-4.
• IBM Redbooks.Implementing Rexx Support in Sdsf.Vervante, 2007.ISBN0-7384-8914-X.
• Kiesel, Peter C.Rexx: Advanced Techniques for Programmers.McGraw-Hill, TX, 1992.ISBN0-07-034600-3.
• Marco, LouISPF/REXX Development for Experienced Programmers.CBM Books, 1995.ISBN1-878956-50-7
• O'Hara, Robert P. and Gomberg, David Roos.Modern Programming Using Rexx.Prentice Hall, 1988.ISBN0-13-597329-5.
• Rudd, Anthony S. 'Practical Usage of TSO REXX'. CreateSpace, 2012.ISBN978-1475097559.
• Schindler, William.Down to Earth Rexx.Perfect Niche Software, 2000.ISBN0-9677590-0-5.

External links

• Mike Cowlishaw's home page
• REXX language pageat IBM
• REXX Language Association