This manual documents the Enterprise Control Language (ECL). ECL has been designed specifically for working with huge sets of data. This book is designed to be both a learning tool and a reference work and is divided into the following sections:
| ECL Basics | Addresses the fundamental concepts of ECL. |
| Expressions and Operators | Defines available operators and their expression evaluation precedence. |
| Value Types | Introduces data types and type casting. |
| Record Structures and Files | Introduces the RECORD structure, DATASET, and INDEX. |
| Alien Data Types | Defines the TYPE structure and the functions it may use. |
| Natural Language Parsing Support | Defines the patterns and functions the PARSE function may use. |
| Reserved Keywords | Defines special-use ECL keywords not elsewhere defined. |
| Special Structures | Defines the TRANSFORM, MACRO, and other structures and their use. |
| Built-In Functions and Actions | Defines the functions and actions available as part of the language. |
| Workflow Services | Defines the job execution/process control aspects of ECL. |
| Templates | Defines the ECL Template commands. |
| External Services | Defines the SERVICE structure and its use. |