To refer to a set of variables, list their names one after another.
Optionally, their names may be separated by commas. To include a
range of variables from the dictionary in the list, write the name of
the first and last variable in the range, separated by TO
. For
instance, if the dictionary contains six variables with the names
ID
, X1
, X2
, GOAL
, MET
, and
NEXTGOAL
, in that order, then X2 TO MET
would include
variables X2
, GOAL
, and MET
.
Commands that define variables, such as DATA LIST
, give
TO
an alternate meaning. With these commands, TO
define
sequences of variables whose names end in consecutive integers. The
syntax is two identifiers that begin with the same root and end with
numbers, separated by TO
. The syntax X1 TO X5
defines 5
variables, named X1
, X2
, X3
, X4
, and
X5
. The syntax ITEM0008 TO ITEM0013
defines 6
variables, named ITEM0008
, ITEM0009
, ITEM0010
,
ITEM0011
, ITEM0012
, and ITEM00013
. The syntaxes
QUES001 TO QUES9
and QUES6 TO QUES3
are invalid.
After a set of variables has been defined with DATA LIST
or
another command with this method, the same set can be referenced on
later commands using the same syntax.