John, Just for the record, in the One True OS, the combination /* in columns 1 and 2 terminate an in-line dataset (unless you code the JCL DLM option). The most common in-line dataset is SYSIN, which is the source. I think this catches us dinosaurs once or twice a decade when we start a /* comment in column 1 and MVS ignores the rest of the program.

Tim Berryhill - Contract Programmer and General Wizard TWB2@PGE.COM or http://www.aartwolf.com/twb.html Frequently at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., San Francisco The correlation coefficient between their views and my postings is slightly less than 0 ----------------------[Reply - Original Message]----------------------

Sent by:John Herbert <herbertj@BRE.CO.UK>

> /* Operating System Pre-emption: >The '/*' character combination is a reserved reference in certain >environments (specifically, /* Jurassic Iron, but there's a lot of it >still around). I understand that it is possible to specify alternate >handling of this character combination under mainframe environments, but >this introduces yet another barrier to code portability. --Are you saying that in some environments, if you *type* "/*" you'll have problems? If it's in the code, there should be no problem.