Syntax diagrams

A syntax diagram uses symbols to represent the elements of a command and to specify the rules for using these elements.

Table 1 explains how to read the syntax diagrams that represent the command-line interface (CLI) commands. In doing so, it defines the symbols that represent the CLI command elements.

Table 1. Syntax diagrams
Element Syntax Description
Main path line >>><>() () () >>Begins on the left with double arrowheads ()>< and ends on the right with two arrowheads facing each other (). If a diagram is longer than one line, each line to be continued ends with a single> arrowhead () and the next line begins with a single arrowhead. Read the diagrams from left­to­right, top­to­bottom, following the main path line.
Keyword
esscli
Represents the name of a command, flag, parameter, or argument. A keyword is not in italics. Spell a keyword exactly as it is shown in the syntax diagram.
Required keywords
{ ­aAccessFile | ­uUserid | ­pPassword }
Indicate the parameters or arguments that you must specify for the command. Required keywords appear on the main path line. Required keywords that cannot be used together are stacked vertically.
Optional keywords
[ { ­h | -help | ­? } ]
Indicate the parameters or arguments that you can choose to specify for the command. Optional keywords appear below the main path line. Mutually exclusive optional keywords are stacked vertically.
Default value
protocol= { FCP | FICON }
Appears above the main path line.
Repeatable keyword or value
newports = { ALL | PortId1,PortId2,... }
Represents a parameter or argument that you can specify more than once. A repeatable keyword or value is represented by an arrow returning to the left above the keyword or value.
Variable
AccessFile
Represents the value that you need to supply for a parameter or argument, such as a file name, user name, or password. Variables are in italics.
Space separator
­u Userid pPassword
Adds a blank space on the main path line to separate keywords, parameters, arguments, or variables from each other.
Quotation mark delimiters
­d " ess = EssId host = 'Host Name' profile = ProfileName "
Indicates the start and end of a parameter or argument that contains multiple values. Enclose one or more name­value pairs in a set of double quotation marks for a particular parameter or argument. If the value of a parameter or name­value pair contains a blank or white space, enclose the entire value in a set of single quotation marks.
Equal­sign operator
"ess = EssId profile = ProfileName "
Separates a name from its value in a name­value pair.
Syntax fragment
Fragment Name

Fragment name

(
fragment details )
Breaks up syntax diagrams that are too long, too complex, or repetitious. The fragment name is inserted in the main diagram, and the actual fragment is shown below the main diagram.
Parent topic: Command-line interface