REXX Support

REXX is a a powerful file and text processing language developed by IBM, 
and available on many PC and other platforms.  REXX is an ideal extension 
to the CMD.EXE batch language, especially if you need advanced string 
processing capabilities. 

The REXX language is not built into CMD.EXE.  REXX language support is 
provided in OS/2 2.0 and above, and you can also purchase add-on REXX 
software such as Enterprise Alternatives' Enterprise REXX, available for 
Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT; or Quercus's Personal REXX, 
available for DOS, OS/2, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT.  (If you 
want to learn about or purchase one of these REXX packages, contact JP 
Software's sales department for more information.) 

REXX programs are stored in .CMD files.  CMD.EXE checks to see if the 
first two characters on the first line of a .CMD file are [/*], the 
beginning of a REXX comment.  If so, it passes the file to OS/2's built-in 
REXX facility for processing.  If Personal REXX for OS/2 is installed, it 
automatically replaces OS/2's built-in REXX, and handles all REXX commands 
passed by CMD.EXE. 

Both Personal REXX and OS/2's built-in REXX extend the interface between 
REXX and CMD.EXE by allowing you to invoke CMD.EXE commands from within a 
REXX program. 

When you send a command from a REXX program back to the command processor 
to be executed (for example, if you execute a DIR command within a REXX 
script), the REXX software must use the correctaddre for the command 
processor.  In most cases it is best to use the default address of CMD, 
which is set up automatically by CMD.EXE.  If you choose to use an 
explicit address via the REXX ADDRESS command, you can use either CMD or 
CMD.EXE. 

For details on communication between REXX and the command processor, or 
for more information on any aspect of REXX, see your REXX documentation.