Processing ISPF dialog variables with panel REXX

ISPF dialog variable can be processed by panel REXX code. Dialog variables are made available to the REXX code via the parameters specified on the *REXX statement:

Specifying * as the first parameter causes all the dialog variables associated with the input and output fields on the panel to be passed to the panel REXX code.
Specifying a dialog variable name causes that dialog variable to be passed to the REXX code.

These rules apply to the dialog variables passed to panel REXX:

The variable values must be in character format when passed, and must remain in character format.
Panel REXX can change the value of a variable but it cannot change its length.
For implicitly defined variables that are fields on the panel, the length of the associated REXX variable is the larger of the length of the panel field and the length of the variable's value.
For other implicitly defined variables, the variable length is considered to be the same as the length of its value.