Conditioning Expressions

Left Operand

The name of a variable or Built-in variable whose value is tested by the expression.

To specify a variable, precede the variable name with an ampersand (&) – for example &VARIABLE1. To specify an indexed variable, specify a variable or numeric literal that specifies the index value in parentheses immediately following the variable name – for example &VARIABLE1(&INDEX1).

To specify a built-in variable, enter the name, including the asterisk, as shown on the Built-ins tab – do not precede a built-in variable name with ampersand.

Operator

A comparison operator used to compare the value of the left and right operands. It may be one of the following:

*EQ  =  Equal

*NE  <>  Not equal

*GT  >  Greater than

*GE  >=  Greater than or equal

*LT  <  Less than

*LE  <=  Less than or equal

Right Operand

The value that is compared to the variable specified by the left operand. The value can be specified in one of two ways:

1. A numeric or alphanumeric literal value. If you enter an alphanumeric literal value you must surround it with quote marks. The quote marks do not become part of the value used for the comparison. If you need to embed quote marks in the value, you should double-up the embedded quote marks.

2. The name of a variable or built-in variable that supplies the value used for the comparison. To specify a variable, precede the variable name with an ampersand (&) – for example &VARIABLE1. To specify a built-in variable, enter the name, including the asterisk, as shown on the Built-ins tab – do not precede a built-in variable name with ampersand. To specify an indexed variable, specify a variable or numeric literal that specifies the index value in parentheses immediately following the variable name – for example &VARIABLE1(&INDEX1).