Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
DIGITAL Command Language
open-in-new
<p>DIGITAL Command Language (DCL) is the standard <a href="/facts/Command_language/YVXavbxQ">command language</a> for many of the <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a> created by <a href="/facts/Digital_Equipment_Corporation/ztxs6keA">Digital Equipment Corporation</a>. DCL was originally implemented for <a href="/facts/Interactive_Application_System/BSohvmNm">IAS</a> as the Program Development System (PDS), and later added to <a href="/facts/RSX-11M/aQB8k3f5">RSX-11M</a>, <a href="/facts/RT-11/AXaahzdB">RT-11</a> and <a href="/facts/RSTS%2fE/76t3p3Fu">RSTS/E</a>, but took its most powerful form in VAX/VMS (later <a href="/facts/OpenVMS/rAnHAgpD">OpenVMS</a>). DCL continues to be developed by VSI as part of OpenVMS. </p><p>DCL is a <a href="/facts/Scripting_language/8pF4ajBL">scripting language</a> supporting several <a href="/facts/Data_type/fcx5hgVL">data types</a>, including strings, <a href="/facts/Integer_(computer_science)/zWabo5M9">integers</a>, <a href="/facts/Bit/S972NSaD">bit</a> arrays, <a href="/facts/Array_(data_type)/gHJJ3XPw">arrays</a> and Booleans, but not <a href="/facts/Floating-point_arithmetic/eIckahxe">floating point</a> numbers. Access to <a href="/facts/OpenVMS/rAnHAgpD">OpenVMS</a> <i>system services</i> (<a href="/facts/Kernel_(operating_system)/uEj4U3Rz">kernel</a> <a href="/facts/API/GMlN4vUr">API</a>) is through lexical <a href="/facts/Function_(computer_programming)/9vFJrg0A">functions</a>, which perform the same as their <a href="/facts/Compiled_language/WRqIRjFx">compiled language</a> counterparts and allow scripts to get information on system state. DCL includes <a href="/facts/Conditional_(computer_programming)/8gDQTqUD">IF-THEN-ELSE</a>, access to all the <a href="/facts/Record_Management_Services/a5TTHAcB">Record Management Services</a> (RMS) file types including stream, indexed, and sequential, but lacks a <a href="/facts/While_loop/hLrKdAFo">DO-WHILE</a> or other <a href="/facts/Program_loop/2XTDfErC">looping</a> construct, requiring users to make do with IF and <a href="/facts/GOTO/V3bV9yVn">GOTO</a>-label statements instead. </p><p>DCL is available for other operating systems as well, including </p> <ul><li>VCL and VX/DCL for Unix,</li> <li>VCL for <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a>, <a href="/facts/OS%2f2/uVBl6ItP">OS/2</a> and <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>,</li> <li>PC-DCL and <a href="https://www.oneadvanced.com/siteassets/resources/application-modernization-collateral/advanced_fact_sheet_open_dcl.pdf">Open DCL</a> for Windows/Linux</li> <li>and Accelr8 DCL Lite for Windows.</li></ul> <p>DCL is the basis of the <a href="/facts/XLNT/NXeDS8sj">XLNT</a> language, implemented on Windows by an interpreter-IDE-WSH engine combination with CGI capabilities distributed by Advanced System Concepts Inc. from 1997. </p>