This section presents the formatting rules for RCL commands, which are similar to Transact-SQL® commands.
You can break a line anywhere except in the middle of a keyword or identifier. You can continue a character string on the next line by typing a backslash (\) at the end of the line.
Extra space characters on a line are ignored, except after a backslash. Do not enter any spaces after a backslash.
You can enter more than one command in a batch, unless otherwise noted.
RCL commands are not transactional. Replication Server executes each command in a batch without regard for the completion status of other commands in the batch. Syntax errors in a command prevent Replication Server from parsing subsequent commands in a batch.
Identifiers are names you give to servers, databases, variables, parameters, database objects, and replication objects. Database object names include names for tables, columns, and views. Replication object names include names for replication definitions, subscriptions, functions, and publications.
Identifiers can be 1 – 255 bytes long (equivalent to 1 – 255 single-byte characters) and must begin with a letter, the @ sign, or the _ character. See “Identifiers,” in Chapter 2, “Topics” for a list of identifiers that have been extended to 255 bytes.
Replication Server function parameters are the only identifiers that can begin with the @ character. Function parameter names can include 255 characters after the @ character.
After the first character, identifiers can include letters, digits, and the #, $, or _ characters. Spaces are not allowed.
Keywords in RCL commands are not case-sensitive. You can enter them with any combination of uppercase or lowercase letters.
Identifiers and character data may be case-sensitive, depending on the sort order that is in effect.
If you are using a case-sensitive sort order, such as “binary,” you must enter identifiers and character data with the correct combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.
If you are using a sort order that is not case-sensitive, such as “nocase,” you can enter identifiers and character data with any combination of uppercase or lowercase letters.
Parameters in function strings have the same rules as identifiers, except:
They are enclosed in question marks (?), allowing Replication Server to locate them in the function string. Use two consecutive question marks (??) to represent a literal question mark in a function string.
The exclamation point (!) introduces a parameter modifier that indicates the source of the data that will be substituted for a parameter at runtime. For a complete list of modifiers, see create function string.
