Date:         Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:03:37 -0400
Reply-To:     Richard Ristow <wrristow@mindspring.com>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Richard Ristow <wrristow@mindspring.com>
Subject:      Re: comments within commands .
Comments: To: Catherine Kubitschek <Catherine.A.Kubitschek.2@nd.edu>
In-Reply-To:  <6.2.1.2.2.20070924205631.034465b8@pop.nd.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 09:42 PM 9/24/2007, Catherine Kubitschek wrote:

>I'm trying to comment out part of a command in situ but I'm not having
>much luck getting it to run.
>
>match files file=Acad_013   /in=in013
>            /table=Acad_Tce  /in=inTce
>            /*   /table=Acad_2006 /in=in2006 */
>            /by Id .
>
>The error message I'm getting indicates that the comment is ending the
>match files command.

I'm afraid that's just what happens. As you quote from the Command
Syntax Reference, "The comment can be placed wherever a blank is
valid." Unfortunately, as a corollary or implementation quirk, for
parsing of code, a comment *IS* a blank. So your command is parsed as

match files file=Acad_013   /in=in013
            /table=Acad_Tce  /in=inTce

            /by Id .

and the blank line ends it. I'd like to do what you want to, too, but
anyway, this should work (but untested):

match files file=Acad_013   /in=in013
            /table=Acad_Tce  /in=inTce
            /*   /table=Acad_2006 /in=in2006 */ /by Id .

>I think I'm reading the Command Syntax Reference correctly but I must
>be missing something.

I guess this implementation of "/*.*/" comments could be said to be
implied in the documentation, but I found it out by trial and error,
myself.

-Good luck and best wishes,
  Richard