REXX

Python is object oriented, which gives it a significant advantage over such other scripting languages as Perl and Rexx.

The brief examples above will give readers a bit of the feel of Rexx as a programming language.

In Rexx they go under the name "stem variables, " but the concept is very similar that of dictionaries in many other languages.

Instead, part of the essence of Rexx is to integrate closely with the command-line environment of its host operating system.

That's the next key fact about the language: There's a Rexx available for your computer, with few exceptions.

Perhaps the greatest strength in Rexx as a text processing language is its useful collection of built-in string manipulation functions.

In bash-like fashion, anything in Rexx that is not recognized as an internal instruction or function is assumed to be an external utility.

Don't worry if Rexx is not installed on your desktop; I'll come back to questions of availability in a moment.

Listing 3 is instructive because so much of Rexx usage has to do with parsing, managing, and rearranging results from other facilities.

NetRexx is an IBM project for compiling Rexx-like code for a Java Virtual Machine.

The next Rexx fact, therefore, is Rexx expects to "partner" with system commands.

NetRexx is an IBM project for compiling Rexx code for a Java Virtual Machine.

A nice feature of Rexx's text handling functions is the naturalness of treating lines as being composed of whitespace-separated words.

Like Perl, REBOL, REXX, and TCL, it's a flexible scripting language with powerful text manipulation capabilities.

The Rexx Language Association is a a general advocacy group for the Rexx programming language.

Rexx, however, does have one additional standard datatype: associative arrays.

That's also easy: There are plenty of Rexx resources available, including both on-line and printed treatments, available at no charge.

Case of names is normalized to upper case in most Rexx contexts.

Few modern computers offer Rexx in a default installation.

In Rexx -- somewhat like in TCL -- to a large extent everything is a string.

Now you know the basic facts about Rexx.

Rexx is practical for much more demanding projects than sh.

A concept at the core of Rexx is juggling multiple stacks or streams.

You can find plenty of Rexx resources available.

A number of ISVs, moreover, have created Rexx environments for many platforms.

Other OS makers, such as Amiga, have also integrated Rexx as an always-available system scripting language.

In fact, "arrays" in Rexx just amount to whitespace-separated strings.

Somewhat late in the game, ANSI officially adopted a standard for Rexx in 1996.

The language is a derivative of plain Rexx.

The Rexx planners didn't simply overlook this reality, though.

And it can be easily adopted by existing REXX programmers and entry-level programmers alike.

In environments that handle enormous datasets, it can make sense to have Rexx team with a specialized external sort command.

ANSI Standard Rexx doesn't include a sort routine, function, or keyword.

To use Rexx effectively yourself, you need to learn the language and access its references.

This is an uncommented Rexx program.

If few modern computers offer Rexx in a default installation, is it worth your trouble to learn it?

Information technology - Programming language REXX

An introduction to scripting using REXX