The syntax for dot notation is as follows:
object.method(<argument_tag-1: value-1<,...argument_tag-n: value-n>>;
The arguments are defined
as follows:
specifies the variable
name for the DATA step component object.
specifies an object
attribute to assign or query.
When you set an attribute
for an object, the code takes this form:
object.attribute = value;
When you query an object
attribute, the code takes this form:
value = object.attribute;
specifies the name
of the method to invoke.
identifies the arguments
that are passed to the method. Enclose the argument tag in parentheses.
The parentheses are required whether the method contains argument
tags.
All DATA step component
object methods take this form:
return_code=object.method(<argument_tag-1:value-1
<, ...argument_tag-n value-n>>);
The return code indicates
method success or failure. A return code of zero indicates success;
a nonzero value indicates failure. If you do not supply a return code
variable for the method call and the method fails, an appropriate
error message is printed to the log.
specifies the argument
value.