Manual

1-4 Introduction
Command Syntax
Each ACL command begins with a two-letter mnemonic; for example, MA for "Move
Absolute". The mnemonic may be either upper case or lower case letters. In some
commands the second character of the mnemonic is one of the following:
< > = + - * / & ! |
Depending on the command, the mnemonic may be followed by one or more numeric
parameters The parameters must be separated from each other by at least one comma, space,
or sign ("+" or "-") character. The end of the command is delimited by a semicolon (";") or
by the mnemonic of the following command.
As soon as the last parameter has been delimited, the Automove System begins to execute
the command. (It is a good idea always to send the semicolon; otherwise a command with
parameters will not execute until the following command comes along to delimit the last
parameter. This could be a long time.) <Carriage Return> (character code 13) and
<Linefeed> (character code 10) are ignored in ACL; therefore they will NOT serve as
parameter delimiters or command terminators.
Any number of commas and spaces may occur before, between, or after parameters; they
will serve as delimiters but are otherwise ignored. They may not appear between the digits of
a given parameter. If a sign character ("+" or "-") is to be used, no characters may occur
between the sign and the first digit character.
Certain commands allow their parameters to be omitted, in which case the corresponding
System variables are given default values. These are called optional parameters. A
semicolon (or the mnemonic of the following command) anywhere in the parameter list
causes all remaining unspecified parameters to be defaulted, if the command allows it.
For example, the following command sequences are equivalent:
MA 300, 400; AB 0; OS;
ma 00300 400ab0os
MA,+300+400.00;;;ab;OS;
While processing ACL commands, the System ignores control characters (i.e. those with
ASCII codes below 32 decimal, including Carriage Return and Linefeed) and the characters
", %, ', (, ), :, ?, [, \, ], _, `, {, }, ~, and DEL. These characters have no effect if they appear
in the parameter list of an ACL command, or between commands. However, they may not
appear in the parameter list of an escape sequence. (See Chapter 6 Escape Sequences.)
Out-of-range values typically have the following effect: If any bad parameter is detected
during the processing of a command, an error is logged but otherwise the command is
ignored. Even if other parameters were OK, they do not take effect. (For an exception to
this rule see the MA command.)
If too many parameters are received the command executes with the required number of
parameters, an error is logged, and the remaining parameters are ignored.