What Is a Target?

Very simply, a target is a way you identify a line to the editor. You use targets to identify lines for two basic reasons:

To change which line is the current line
To define the operating range of a subcommand's execution

You can enter a target in the following ways:

By itself
As the operand of the LOCATE subcommand
Before any XEDIT subcommand
As the operand(s) in many other XEDIT subcommands

When you enter a target either by itself or as the operand of a LOCATE subcommand, the editor makes the target line the new current line. Entered before a subcommand, a target causes the editor to make the target line the new current line before it executes the subcommand.

When you enter a target as the operand of various other XEDIT subcommands, it defines the range of that subcommand's execution. Most XEDIT subcommands begin their operation with the current line; the target operand specifies where the operation is to end.

The following XEDIT subcommands have target operands:

ALL

EXPAND

REPEAT

ALTER

EXTRACT

SET RANGE

CHANGE

HEXTYPE

SET SELECT

COMPRESS

LOWERCAS

SHIFT

COPY

MERGE

SORT

COUNT

MOVE

STACK

DELETE

PUT

TYPE

DUPLICAT

PUTD

UPPERCAS

See z/VM: XEDIT Commands and Macros Reference for a complete description of the subcommand formats.

You can express a target in the following ways:

An absolute line number
A relative displacement from the current line
A line name
A simple string expression
A complex string expression

You can use one or all of the above kinds of targets during an editing session; you can even use different kinds of target operands in the same subcommand.