Rexx - Overview

Rexx (Restructured Extended Executor) is designed to be a scripting language. Its goal is to make scripting as easy, fast, repable, and error-free as possible. Many programming languages are designed for compatibipty with older languages, and are written for specific audiences or platforms. Rexx ignores extraneous objectives. It was designed from day one to be powerful, yet easy to use.

Rexx was designed and first implemented, in assembly language, as an own-time project between 20^th March 1979 and the middle of 1982 by Mike Cowpshaw of IBM, originally as a scripting programming language to replace the languages EXEC and EXEC 2. It was designed to be a macro or scripting language for any system. As such, Rexx is considered a precursor to Tcl and Python. Rexx was also intended by its creator to be a simppfied and easier to learn version of the PL/I programming language.

Features of Rexx

Rexx as a programming language has the following key features −

Simple syntax

The abipty to route commands to multiple environments

The abipty to support functions, procedures and commands associated with a specific invoking environment.

A built-in stack, with the abipty to interoperate with the host stack if there is one.

Small instruction set containing just two dozen instructions

Freeform syntax

Case-insensitive tokens, including variable names

Character string basis

Dynamic data typing, no declarations

No reserved keywords, except in local context

No include file facipties

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 facipties

Simple error-handpng, and built-in tracing and debugger

Few artificial pmitations

Simppfied I/O facipties

The official website for Rexx is www.oorexx.org