Editing Control Language (section)

==Finding the right command==
There are 2,262 built-in IBM commands contained in V7R3,<ref>[http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_73/clfinder/finder30.htm IBM.com]</ref> but finding them isn't all that hard because of several designs of the system that make life easier. These labor saving designs are: Standardized Abbreviations, Command Grouping Menus, and Command Selection.

===Standardized abbreviations===
The IBM developers standardized the abbreviations used to create command names. Verbs like ''change'' are always rendered as ''CHG'', ''display'' as ''DSP'', ''work'' as ''WRK'', ''create'' as ''CRT'', etc. Subjects like ''program'' are always ''PGM'', ''user'' is ''USR'', ''module'' is ''MOD'', ''server'' is ''SVR'', etc. You can see every possible verb and subject used on the system in the '''VERB''' and '''SUBJECT''' menus, just enter the commands GO VERB or GO SUBJECT.

Likewise, "Control Language Programming" was abbreviated CLP, and the source type was accordingly CLP.  With the introduction of the ILE programming model, the source type was changed to "CLLE".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Meyers|first1=Bryan|title=Control Language Programming for the AS/400|date=1997|publisher=29th Street Press|isbn=9781882419760|edition=2nd }}</ref>

===Command grouping menus===
The VERB and SUBJECT menus are part of what are called the Command Grouping Menus. For every Three (or four) Letter abbreviation there is a menu devoted to it that starts with the letters ''CMD''. So to see all ''CHG'' commands the user would execute the command GO CMDCHG. For ''program'' commands the menu would be CMDPGM.

There are other menus besides the Command Grouping Menus. The starting point for the menuing system can be accessed by pressing F4 on an empty [[AS/400 command line|command line]].

===Command selection===
If one only knows part of a command or if third party software is being used where the commands don't conform to the AS/400 abbreviation standard then you would enter that part of the command that is known, attach an asterisk (to make it generic), and press enter. The system will then display a list of commands in the job's [[Object (IBM i)#Library List|library list]] that match the generic names just typed. One can then page through the list looking for the command needed and then select it using option 1.

In the background the system is using the SLTCMD command to perform this function. If one wants to select all commands in a [[Object (IBM i)|library]] then prompt this command and enter the special value *ALL.