Depending on the command, a single parameter may consist of a list , a number of items separated by commas. Any spaces around the commas are ignored. The two file names are separated by one or more blanks. Each qualifier starts with a slash, which may be preceded with a space. Only a few commands use parameter qualifiers.
Some qualifiers require or accept additional information.
Because it is a command qualifier, it makes no difference where you place it in the command. In contrast, placing the qualifier after the name of a file causes multiple copies of only that file to be printed. You can enter a command string on more than one line by using the continuation character, the hyphen, as the last item on a line. When you type a command and specify a continuation, DCL uses the dollar sign preceded by an underscore to indicate that it is still accepting the command. The number of continuation lines is restricted only by DCL's 1,024-character limit on a single command string.