Product Description
Describes the newest version of the REXX language, providing an easy way for programmers to move into object-oriented programming on the Windows platform.(Advanced). ... Read more

Product Description
A concise source of information for the development and implication of applications using MVS REXX. The author uses a practical approach, using lists and diagrams to illustrate relevant points. The book particularly emphasizes the interfacing capabilities of REXX. Both beginners and experts will find the book useful. ... Read more

Product Description
- All REXX functions, instruction and reserved variables - Built-in functions for OS/2, TSO and CMS - Clear, useful examples of all REXX features - Compatiblitiy issues across OS/2, TSO and CMS platforms -Quick Reference Guide that contains typical facilities to needed to use REXX. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A reference book, and a good one!
"Reference" implies that the user knows something about the subject. A reference book is for looking up things, not for learning.
It is excellent for looking up things. Examples are clear and lack the clutter found in the vendor manuals.
One of the reviews is by someone who doesn't realize that the "REXX + ISPF part" does not belong in a reference book about REXX.
The "ISPF part" is an entirely different subject, is quite complex and does not fit well in a reference book of this type.
Expecting the "REXX + ISPF part" in a book of this type is like expecting MySql language in a HTML reference book.
Note that ISBN 1892559080 is the more recent edition.

GREAT REXX Reference
This book is a handy reference guide for the REXX language. I recommend the book if you're coding using REXX.

Not worthy of the cost
I bought this book today.After going thru it, I found that its not worthy of the price $33. It doesn't handle REXX+ISPF programming part.

Just a good tool for writting simple REXX programs

Not on my bookshelf anymore ......
I would not recommend this book due to anyone with any hope of understanding this fickle and sometimes difficult language.There are some thing the author does not cover and some she giggles over like a schoolgirl.I don't think she has a full grasp of reality yet alone the subject.

Book review as in Tech Support Magazine, April 2000
Gabe Gargiulo's REXX Quick Reference Guide, published by MVS Training, Inc. is a must have for anyone who writes code in REXX on any platform.The book is a well-organized reference guide that explains every REXXfunction, verb and reserved variable.The book covers the REXX language inalphabetical order so it is easy to find what you are looking for.Forexample, to learn more about the PARSE statement, simply look in the"P" pages.This is a handy format for quick reference guidesbecause most people use them for specific help on specific coding problems. Maybe a function or very basic parameters that a programmer has never usedbefore and he or she needs to know more about them.Or, maybe a programmernoted a feature of some function during earlier research but didn't have aneed for it at the time.Now, they have a need for the untried feature andwant to know how it works.Here is where a books like this is invaluable. Interspersed throughout the books are some useful informational topics. These include compatiblity issues for REXX for cross-platform code,concatenation-both within the REXX language and for the SYSEXEC/SYSPROC DDnames of TSO, a full explanation of how to exploit functions, edit macrosand finally, precedence of operators.These extra topics all serve asvaluable aids to REXX programming that can't be pinned down to a specificverb or function.This book wouldn't be appropriate for someone whodoesn't already have some familiarity with REXX-it is not a"how-to" or tutorial on the REXX language.Instead, it is thekind of book that a REXX programmer should have close by when he or she isabout to "get creative" and do some power coding.Personally, Ialways find these types of books useful. A typical thing that happens to me is that I spot something that the author documents as a language featurethat I had been coding "by hand" for years.That is, I discover a better and easier way to accomplish something.I then adopt the"new" (to me) technique permanently.I like that.It makes me abetter, faster and more accurate programmer! ... Read more

Product Description
REXX is a general purpose language which is easy to learn. It contains an extensive library of powerful functions which greatly reduces the amount of coding necessary to write applications. The use of REXX in a wide range of environments simplifies the writing of applications to run under different hardware and operating systems, and its expansibility allows other components to make sure of REXX facilities and vice versa. Practical Usage of TSO REXX provides a concise source of information for the development and implication of applications using the REXX language. The author adopts a practical approach, using lists and diagrams to illustrate relevant points. This third edition, (previously titled Practical Usage of MVS REXX), has been revised to include the new REXX features introduced for the OS/390 TSO/E environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good book, focused on OS/2
I recently discovered REXX and have been devouring books on the subject.This one is a good book, but it doesn't tell you that it is focused on OS/2.In almost every example I've seen, it works similarly on Windows and (with minor changes for calling external OS commands) Linux.However, I find myself checking even the most minor things to see if it is implementation specific (OS/2 has a version of REXX built in) or if it conforms to TRL2 or ANSI.

All in all, this is a good book, and a useful addition to your library if you want to use REXX at home or at work.

Buy this book, but--unless you have access to OS/2--make sure you have one or two others first.

A Real-Word Guide To Learning REXX Programming
Down To Earth REXX, authored by Bill Schindler andpublished by Perfect Niche Publishing is an update of the Teach Yourself REXX In 21 Days SAM's Publication, which was the text of choice for programmers learning to use REXX on an OS/2 Platform in the mid-1990s.

Down To Earth REXX is a fitting title for the book, in that it uses a wide array of practical, real-world programming examples in teaching REXX to all levels of programmers, from introductory concepts regarding REXX syntax, File Processing and Functions to more advanced RexxUtil Functions for MS DOS under Windows and OS/2 Workplace Shell and EPM Programming techniques.

Among some of the text-based programs presented in the book that I found useful as Windows-based MS DOS environment applications are an Interactive REXX Interpreter, a Calendar Month Display program, a File Deletion with Verification utility, a Binary File Hex Display utility, a Filespec Directory Search utility anda Multiple File Text String Search utility.

There are topics which cover ANSI.SYS programming for text-based color display programming, conversion of .BAT files into REXX programs, Compound variables for use in array processing, algorithms such as Zeller's Congruence (useful in date field processing) and the use of recursion for sorting, and .INI file processing techniques.

For the majority of the program examples (primarily Text Console-based) presented in the first 17 Chapters, the programs can be easily modified to run on different platforms (in my case I used IBM Object REXX for MS-DOS under Windows95 and Red Hat Linux 6.1 running a Gnome workstation terminal).

Some of the programs are strictly OS/2 material, particularly those examples presented in Chapters 18 through 21, which cover OS/2 Applications, Workplace Shells and Interprocess Communications.

Perfect Niche has done a good job to improve the presentation of the material from the earlier SAMs edition.I found the new format easier to read and quicker to reference versus the older book.The Appendices in the Perfect Niche publication are a significant improvement over the SAMs text. Appendix D is a concise, specific reference of REXX Keywords and Functions, which I found reflecting most of the functions available in the IBM Object REXX Interpreter.

The program code is for the most part free from error.I did find an error in the Intermediate Skills Review 2 "Checker Game" program (CHEXX.CMD), in which the REXX Logical Not Operator was substituted with an erroneous "TM" superscript.For most dialogs ofREXX and most PC keyboards, the "\" character can be used as a Logical Not Operator.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for acomprehensive book rich in useful programming examples as a means to learning REXX.The cost of the publication is very favorable compared to other publications readily available.The fact that the latter portions of the book focus on OS/2 should not deter any programmers who are looking for a text for learning the REXX language as a text-based scripting language for multiple platforms. ... Read more

Product Description
Get a better grasp of what's going on when you use ISPF. Find out how to use the underlying TSO commands directly, for more control and more options. Combine those commands into CLIST or REXX procedures to automate the jobs you do most often. Create your own edit macros to invoke from ISPF. Use ISPF dialog manager to create procedures with full-screen, interactive panels. It's all here, loaded with examples to get you going right away. (10 chapters, 450 pages, 240 illustrations) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

good book
The book is precisely what I was looking for. It explains how to make and install REXX and CLIST macros and procedures in a very clear and didactic way.

REXX book
This book has very poor standards. As soon as I open the book to read, I didn't like it at all. This is good one for COBOL programers, who wants to learn Clist or REXX.

I intendent to learn Clist and REXX.

MVS Tso: Commands and Procedures (MVS TSO)
I needed the product for work.The response was timely and the price was fair.

A complete picture of the MVS/TSO environment
This book presents a complete picture of the MVS environment with chapters on REXX, CLISTs, Dialog Manager, TSO commands among others. While it does not have the complete syntax for any of these components, it is a goodstarting point for all of them, and one of the few reference books to coverall of them in one book. This allows the author to show the interactionbetween the components.In all, a very helpful book for the MVS developer. ... Read more

Product Description
REXX (REstructured eXtended eXecutor) is an interpreted programming language which was developed at IBM. It is a structured high-level programming language which was designed to be both easy to learn and easy to read. Both proprietary and open source interpreters for REXX are available on a wide range of computing platforms, and compilers are available for IBM mainframes, such as III's T/Rexx.Rexx is widely used as a glue language, macro language, and is often used for processing data and text and generating reports; these similarities with Perl mean that Rexx works well in CGI programming and it is indeed used for this purpose. Rexx is also used as an internal macro language in some software including the ZOC terminal emulator. Additionally, the Rexx language can be used for scripting and macros in any programme which uses Windows Scripting Host ActiveX scripting engines languages (e.g. VBScript and JScript) if one of the Rexx engines (see below) are installed. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Object REXX programming language is an object-oriented scripting language initially produced by IBM for OS/2. It is a follow-on to and a significant extension of "Classic Rexx" originally created for the CMS component of VM/SP and later ported to MVS, OS/2 and PC-DOS. On October 12, 2004, IBM released Object REXX as open source software, giving rise to Open Object Rexx, now available for various operating systems: Linux, Solaris, Windows. This implementation includes a WSH Scripting Engine for Rexx. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A must-have for any serious OS/2 user or Rexx programmer
No matter how little Rexx programming you do, this book is a gold mine.Its compact size and ring binder make it very convenient next to your keyboard.In addition to covering the Rexx language, it also covers allthe popular third-party extensions.And for the OS/2 user, it is aninvaluable resource on the WorkPlace Shell and other features of theworld's most powerful operating system.

An excellent handy reference for REXX programmers.
The REXX Reference Summary Handbook is an extremely useful tool for anyone regularly programming in the REXX language.

This book matches its title extremely well.This is a reference book detailing many aspects of REXXranging from syntax of the language and several popular addon modules, toWorkplace Shell information useful for manipulating the OS/2 Desktop.Thisis a summary in which entries are short and to the point making it anexcellent tool for REXX programmers, not a book that teaches REXX forbeginners.Finally this is a handbook with a great 4"x8" sizethat slips in right next to the keyboard where it is never out ofreach.

While the book contains lots of information specific to the OS/2SAA REXX platform the first chapter applies to any REXX implementation. This makes it equally useful for programming other platforms such as ReginaREXX on the Windows NT platform, or the REXX included with current versionsof IBM PC-DOS.

The downside to the REXX Reference Summary Handbook isthat is is out of print, so it is missing some of the most recent OS/2 REXXupdates.This is minor since the online REXX reference shipped with OS/2is generally current so any missing topics can be printed from the onlinereference and inserted into the handbook.

Next to a good text editor thisis one of the best things you can add to your REXX toolbox.My copy isborrowed often, but never gets far from hand. ... Read more