00176: Synchronous SCALL versus asynchronous SCALL

Title:

Synchronous SCALL versus asynchronous SCALL

Description:

Under (V)PRO/5, you have a choice of a synchronous SCALL (the program stops running until the system call returns) or an asynchronous SCALL (the program continues, and can even exit before the SCALL finishes). The way to get an asynchronous SCALL is to add an ampersand (&) to the end of the command string. Without the trailing ampersand, you’ll get a synchronous SCALL. 

Example of a synchronous SCALL: 
>a=scall(“notepad”) 

Example of an asynchronous SCALL: 
>a=scall(“notepad&”) 

For more information and examples on SCALL() with both (V)PRO/5 and BBj, see this KB article.