That's what they *should* do, but in practice they (incorrectly) infer rules 
from examples
> IBM designed REXX to completely avoid the need for product developers to 
> understand REXX.

In some cases, but if you want to define functions or to set REXX variables 
then you need to understand a bit more about the API. Still, it's not brocket 
science.

> The syntax is self-evident

Alas, no; if it were the tech writers wouldn't consistently get it wrong.

--
Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3
עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי
נֵ֣צַח יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א יְשַׁקֵּ֖ר

________________________________________
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> on behalf of Jon 
Perryman <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2024 1:45 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: As a long-time Rexx programmer

On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 15:01:37 +0000, Seymour J Metz <[email protected]> wrote:

> the question is whether they should be offering uninforme4d guesses as syntax 
> rules.
> IMHO they should be providing tested examples and referring readers to the 
> Rexx documentation for details.

>

 You create a unique REXX address environment and a simple interface (thru 
ADDRESS environment) that receives a string & returns REXX variables. You 
process the string as a command valid for your product which can be anything 
you want.

SDSF has examples which is the only section I ever looked at. The syntax is 
self-evident because it follows the batch interface. I suspect the 
documentation refers readers to the REXX documentation but there are always 
people who can't connect the dots. While this isn't rocket science, the 
documentation exists solely to keep customers from calling support. Sometimes 
there is a need to cross contaminate a product's manuals to avoid the need to 
call support for help.

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