ESSCMD Syntax Guidelines

Overview
Getting Started
Syntax Guidelines
Batch Processing
Interactive Mode
Command Groups
Command List

In general, you use the same syntax for entering ESSCMD commands as you do for other Hyperion Essbase commands. However, there are differences between ESSCMD's interactive and batch processing modes in the requirements for quotation marks and the semicolon statement terminator. Use the guidelines in this section when creating script or batch files.

Case-sensitivity varies by operating system:

Windows is not case-sensitive. You can enter ESSCMD commands and file-names in uppercase or lowercase letters, or in any combination of the two.
UNIX is case-sensitive. You must enter file names in the correct case or UNIX does not recognize them. However, you can enter ESSCMD command names and parameters in uppercase or lowercase.

Quotation Marks

Quotation marks (" ") enclose character parameters and responses to commands.

In interactive ESSCMD, using quotes is optional. Be sure to use quotes when a parameter has an embedded space. For example:
```
CALC "Calc All;"
```
In an ESSCMD script file, always enclose all character parameters and responses to commands in quotes. For example:
```
LOGIN "Local" "TomT" "Password";
```
You do not have to enclose numeric parameters and responses in quotes.
You cannot place quotes within quotes.

Semicolon Statement Terminator

The ; (semicolon) statement terminator signals the end of a command. For example:

SELECT "SAMPLE" "BASIC";

In interactive ESSCMD, pressing the Enter key signals ESSCMD that the command is complete. The statement terminator is optional.
In an ESSCMD script file, you should use the terminator, even though it is optional, if a command has many parameters. This is especially important in order to signal the end of the parameter list if some of the parameters are optional.
If you omit some optional parameters and do not use ; to end the list, ESSCMD looks for the remaining values in the next command in the file, leading to unpredictable results.

The SETAPPSTATE and SETDBSTATE commands are examples of commands which you should terminate with ; to prevent any confusion in processing.

Note: All syntax examples in this documentation use quotation marks and semicolon terminators.

Referencing Files

Some commands require that you precede object or file names with a numeric parameter, from 1 to 4, that tells Hyperion Essbase where to look for the object or file. The parameter directs ESSCMD to look for files in other applications, databases, or systems.

The following table lists each value for the numeric parameter (numeric), the file location to which it applies, and the information that ESSCMD requests when you use each parameter setting. appName is the application name and dbName is the database name.

*numeric*	File	Hyperion Essbase prompts user for:

1	Local or client-based file	Windows NT: Files in the `\ESSBASE\CLIENT\appName\dbName` directory. UNIX: Files in the `essbase/client/appName/dbName` directory.
2	Remote or server-based file	Windows NT: Files in the `\ESSBASE\APP\appName\dbName` directory. UNIX: Files in the `essbase/app/appName/dbName` directory.
3	File	Fully-qualified path to the file, unless file is in the current ESSCMD directory.
4	SQL table	Full network and database information for the SQL table.

For example, the LOADDATA command can load a data file that resides on the client or the Hyperion Essbase server. The command requires the numeric parameter to tell Hyperion Essbase where to look for the data file. This example causes ESSCMD to prompt for the fully-qualified path name of the file to load:

LOADDATA 3

File extensions are usually optional in both interactive and batch processing modes, except when using commands that require a numeric parameter that indicates the location of files:

If you use file option 3 (File), you must enter the file extension in both interactive and batch processing modes.
If the object is in the directory from which you started ESSCMD, you do not need to enter a path.