REXX

An interpreted, procedural structured language that is included with every version of OS/2 1.2EE and later, IBM PC-DOS 7.0 and most Amiga OS variants and clones in addition to all current and recent IBM mainframe and minicomputer operating systems.

Although REXX is a generic programming language and can be (and has been) used to construct everything from simple utilities to large business applications, it is primarily used as a scripting or macro language, and as such is unusually easy to learn. The REXX language was created by Mike Cowlishaw of IBM Hursley in 1979 and the first implementation was shipped inside IBM in 1980 and as an external product in 1982, third party implementations started appearing in 1984.

Object REXX is a later version of the language that has been given object-oriented extensions modelled on those present in Smalltalk (IBM's language of choice at the time), while it is mostly compatible with Classic REXX there are some minor differences that mean that most larger REXX programs have to have at the least some modifications to run correctly under OREXX, and this has meant that in the OS/2 world it never gained any real traction. Amiga REXX is a clone of IBM's Classic REXX that has extensions to help its use as a mechanism for application to application and/or inter-application communication, Regina REXX supports those extensions.

OS/2 REXX implementations and tools

• Object REXX - Open source - OS/2 version discontinued, but older version shipped with OS/2 Warp 4.
• Personal REXX - Commercial - Discontinued
• Regina REXX - Compatible with Classic REXX - Open Source - Current
• Procedures Language/2 REXX aka SAA REXX - Development discontinued, but shipped with all OS/2 32-bit versions.

Libraries, extensions and bindings

• Bullet/REXX - Allows you to work with xBase files or databases - Commercial - Discontinued.
• dbfREXX - Allows you to work with xBase files or databases - Commercial - Discontinued
• Info-Zip - Compression/decompression, avl. in a REXX compatible DLL - Open source - Current
• LesTecIO - Sundry I/O routines - Commercial - Current
• Pro*REXX - Bindings/Interface to a Oracle Database - Commercial - Discontinued
• RexxBase - Allows you to work with xBase files or databases - Freeware - Discontinued.
• REXXBOS - A complete OS/2 system interface for REXX - Commercial - Current
• REXX/CURL - Bindings to the libcURL library - Open source - Current
• REXX/CURL - Encode, compress and encryption ext. - Open source - Current
• REXX/GD - Bitmap manipulation extension - Open source - Sort of current
• REXXIO - I/O routines, freeware version of LesTecIO -Current
• REXX/ISAM - ISAM database files extension - Open source - Discontinued
• REXX/SQL - SQL database access - Open source - Current
• REXXSEM - Semaphore support for REXX - Used to be shareware, now freeware
• RXULS - REXX Unicode API - Open source - Current.
• SpUtils - PM and API functions - Open source - Discontinued.

GUI/Widget bindings

• Rexx/Curses - Bindings to the PD Curses text mode UI library - Open source - Current
• REXX/DW - Bindings to the Dynamic Windows GUI/Widget toolkit - Open source - Current
• REXX/Tk - Bindings to the Tcl/Tk GUI/Widget toolkit - Open source - Discontinued

Graphical front ends and REXX development systems

• Dr. Dialog - Freeware - Discontinued
• GpfREXX - Commercial - Development discontinued but still available for sale at a discounted price.
• MAID - Commercial - Current
• VisPro/REXX - Was commercial, now freeware - Discontinued
• VREXX - Freeware - Discontinued
• VX-REXX - Commercial - Discontinued

Utilities and translators

• Rexx2Nrx - Converts Classic REXX software to NetRexx - Open Source - Discontinued.

OS/2 text & programmers editors with REXX support

• Boxer - Classic REXX (Regina & IBM) and BREXX support included by default.
• Enhanced Editor - Has syntax highlighting, auto-formatting and automatic code summary for REXX.
• Fast Editor Lite
• FTE - Has support for syntax highlighting, code folding and syntax-aware autoindent. - Open source - Current.
• Future Wave Editor - macro & syntax support included by default - Shareware - Current.
• KEDIT - XEDIT clone - Commercial - Discontinued.
• Preditor/2 - REXX template with syntax highlighting - Commercial - Discontinued.
• SourceLink - Commercial - Discontinued - Browser/Editor/Visualiser.

Source code browsers, visualisers, analysers and other utilities

• Exuberant ctags - Creates index files out of REXX source files - Open source - Current.
• Pillarsoft Suite - Contains a code template tool with REXX support - Shareware - Discontinued
• REXX/Trans - Helps you use REXX as a macro lang. in your app - Open source - Current.
• REXX/Wrapper - Wraps REXX code into a semi-exe - Open source - Current.
• SourceLink - Commercial - Discontinued - Browser/Editor/Visualiser.

REXX source code snippets, archives and collections

Small programs or routines that you can integrate into your own programs or study to learn from, but are not delivered in library form.

• Album of Algorithms and Techniques for Standard Rexx - Vladimír Zábrodský's collection of REXX code, mostly small snippets.
• BuildSOM - Creates program and folder objects via SOM.
• Get Usenet News Articles Using REXX, Network News Transfer Protocol and Sockets
• Harold Zbiegien's date algorithms in REXX
• Mark's MVS Utilities - While mostly XEDIT and MVS related there are a few worthwhile REXX programs in there as well.
• norrsken data teknik eCS tools - Helge Nordmann's REXX utility collection.
• PLEAC-REXX - Collection of common REXX rutines
• REXX examples from Rob van der Woude's Scripting homepage
• Rex Swain's B2MMDDYY.REX - Convert Base format date to MM/DD/YYYY
• Send Mail to an Email List with REXX, SMTP and Sockets
• Stupid OS/2 Tricks/REXX Commands
• txt2HTML - Converts text files to HTML files.
• Walter Pachl's REXX code
• Walter Pachl's code on rosettacode.org - Contains many REXX snippets.
• Update Homepage

OS/2 applications that can be scripted with REXX

OS/2 based application that have explicit REXX support, other software that has some sort of scripting support can sometimes be "hijacked" to use REXX as well by shaping the output of your REXX script to what the application expects.

• Enhanced Editor - Text editor
• Embellish - Bitmap graphics editing
• Future Wave Editor - Text editor
• Gnuplot - Plotting package.
• HyperAccess - Communications program
• Impos/2 - Bitmap graphics editing
• KEDIT - Text editor
• Kermit 95 - Communications.
• Lpex - Editor, part of VisualAge C++
• Lotus 1-2-3
• Mesa 2 - Spreadsheet
• Photo Graphics Pro - Line/pixel graphics
• PM-Mail - E-Mail program.
• REXXterm - Communications program
• SourceLink - Source code browser/editor/visualiser
• THE - Editor
• ZOC - Communications program.

A list of DOS implementations of REXX

• BREXX - Open Source - Current
• PC DOS REXX - Commercial - included in IBM PC DOS versions 7 and higher.
• Compact Rexx (CRX) - Open source - Discontinued.
• Personal REXX - Commercial - Discontinued
• Portable Rexx - Commercial - Discontinued
• Regina REXX - Compatible with Classic REXX - Open Source - Current
• REXXPC88 - 1987/88 IBM internal

DOS text & programmers editors with REXX support

• Boxer - Regina, IBM and BREXX support included by default
• FTE - Has support for syntax highlighting, code folding and syntax-aware autoindent. - Open source - Current.

A list of REXX implementations that run under WinOS/2

• Object REXX - Open source - Win32s version discontinued - IBM versions supported running under Win3x with Win32s.
• Personal REXX - Commercial - Discontinued
• WinREXX - Commercial - Discontinued
• WREXX - Commercial - Discontinued

A list of REXX implementations that run under Java

• NetRexx

Publications

For listings of REXX related books and general articles see the REXX Bibliography.

Local articles

• Douglas Clark: Rexx: The King is Alive and Well
• Dan Bridges: The Joy of REXX - Tutorial and Book review
• Roger Orr: OS/2 Procedures Language - REXX - Introductory material
• REXX Tips & Tricks:Sources
• Dave Briccetti: Sending Mail with REXX
• OS2 API:REXX
• Darin McBride: REXXSEM:The Reference
• Charles Daney: Common REXX Pitfalls
• Charles Daney: How to Do It in OS/2 REXX
• Charles Daney: Advanced REXX Programming Topics
• Charles Daney: Solving REXX and OS/2 problems with REXXLIB
• REXX Tips & Tricks
• Richard K. Goran: Introduction to object manipulation in REXX
• Richard K. Goran: REXX Components
• Richard K. Goran: Creating and building your own LaunchPad
• Richard K. Goran: Info-ZIP's UnZip REXX Interface

Tutorials and other learning material

• Our own introduction and turorial written by Roger Orr: OS/2 Procedures Language - REXX
• And a more thorough tutorial called "REXX for Newies" that was written by Chris Wenham:
  • REXX for Newies:Part I (Oct 1998)
  • REXX for Newies:Part II (Oct 1998)
  • REXX for Newies:Part III (Nov 1998)
  • REXX for Newies:Part IV (Nov 1998)
  • REXX for Newies:Part V (Dec 1998)
• Ian Collier's REXX tutorial
• Vladimír Zábrodský: An Introduction To The REXX Programming Language - From OS/2.cz
• Keith Watts: The Classic REXX tutorial - Teaches the language to "Language Level 4.00 (TRL-2)", that is roughly the same as the SAA REXX shipped with OS/2
• REXX: THE LANGUAGE - Introduction and tutorial by James Barry of Kyla Computing.
• Using REXX to repair and control the desktop - From Les Bell and Associates Pty Ltd
• Matt Slocum: Rexx Programming Guide - Nov 2005

Czech language tutorials

• Vladimír Zábrodský: Úvod do programovacího jazyka REXX - Short tutorial introduction to REXX in Czech.

Links

• The Rexx Language Association
• Ian Collier's REXX page
• IBM REXX page
• Mark Hessling's Home Page - Lots of Rexx and Regina information and files from the gent behind Regina REXX, including a Rexx manual
• REXX Tips & Tricks - In English & German, not to be confused with our REXX Tips & Tricks, this is material collected by a mainframe REXX programmer and some of it does not apply to OS/2 REXX.
• Cosmos Grammaticus - REXX related blog
• Eric Giguère: REXX and the OS/2 Workplace Shell

USENET, forums and e-mail lists

• comp.lang.REXX - Surprisingly popular - Go to the Google groups version if you are newsgroup challenged.
• REXX LA forum - The official REXX Language Association forum.
• REXXLIST - Long running list

Built with REXX

• SRE-HTTP - A web server written primarily in REXX

Standards

• ANSI standard for Rexx (X3.274), Published in 1996.
• Extended REXX proposal - Published in 1998

REXX history

The REXX language was created by Mike Cowlishaw of IBM Hursley in 1979, initially as a written specification and the first implementation was shipped inside IBM in 1980 and as an external product in 1982.