Introduction to VAX-11 PL/I

This document, "Introduction to VAX-11 PL/I" (Order No. AA-H950A-TE), published by Digital Equipment Corporation in July 1980, serves as an introductory guide to the VAX-11 implementation of the PL/I programming language.

It primarily offers an overview of the PL/I General Purpose (G) Subset (defined by the proposed ANSI standard BSR X3.74) and highlights the specific extensions provided to enable PL/I programs to run effectively within the VAX/VMS operating system. Aimed at programmers already familiar with PL/I or other high-level languages (not novices), it details both the core PL/I concepts and its VAX-11 specific functionalities.

The manual is structured into three main chapters:

• Chapter 1: PL/I Concepts provides a general overview of the language's fundamental aspects, including program structure, data declarations, aggregates, assignment and expressions, input/output concepts (stream and record I/O), program control, procedures, condition handling, and storage allocation.
• Chapter 2: VAX-11 Extensions to PL/I details the specific enhancements for input/output processing (e.g., indexed sequential files, file disposition, terminal I/O) and conventions for calling and condition handling (e.g., argument-passing mechanisms, global symbols, new storage classes).
• Chapter 3: Using PL/I in the VAX/VMS Environment covers practical aspects such as a sample terminal session, interaction with the VAX/VMS file system (including subdirectories and logical names), usage of the VAX/VMS librarian (for INCLUDE files and object module libraries), and command procedures for program development.

It also includes a concise VAX-11 PL/I Language Summary and a Glossary of terms.