Parse a folder path, seperating by each folder

Patrick McGhee · New User Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Posts: 3 Location: USA

Hello everybody! Thanks for all the help and insight that I have taken from this site to date.

I'm having a difficult time trying to parse a server path string into variables for each folder. I am running into problems where there is a space in the folder name.

For instance: I would like to take \\root\name 1\name 2\name 3 and store each folder name into a variable like this:

fname1 = root
fname2 = name 1
fname3 = name 2
fname4 = name 3

Here is the code that I am working with:

enrico-sorichetti · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:37 pm

it' s not the rexx that is not working,
it' s the invocation format that' s wrong
the tokn You are trying to pass is being resolved as two parameters

IIRC try quoting the invocation parameter

but as a general consideration it is not a safe practice to have path names with embedded blanks

Patrick McGhee · New User Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Posts: 3 Location: USA

Thank you for the quick reply!

Although I didn't recognize it a first I understand what you are saying. However, even if I put the string in quotes it resolves to the same thing. I am invoking REXX through batch JCL passing in the path name. I would like to pass it in through the JCL to keep from hard-coding it in the REXX.

I understand the complexities with spaces in folder path names but this is something that cannot change. There are spaces in the folder names on our production servers so we have to code for it.

Thanks again,
Patrick

Pedro · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 2:09 am

Remove the dot at the end of

Parse Upper Arg path .

dick scherrer · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 2:10 am

Hello Patrick and welcome to the forums,

You might try something i'd call a pseudo-blank - a keyboard character that would not ever appear in the string, and would be replaced by an x'40' after the string was broken into the component fields. Things like ~ | ! come to mind as they aren't as likely to be used in designed folder names (seen a few of these that were system generated, but not admin-designed).

Pedro · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 2:11 am

also, I question the use of UPPER in the parse statement. I think it is case sensitive.

Ramya A · Active User Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 104

Hi Patrick,

I just tried your code and it worked fine for me:

Patrick McGhee · New User Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Posts: 3 Location: USA

Thanks for all of your help guys!

Pedro,
The REXX invokation worked and parsed correctly when I removed the period from the parse sentence.

Dick,
This method would have been my fallback. Thanks!

Ramya,
I did not try your solution of using the pull method. This would have probably satisfied my needs as well.

Very knowledgeable group of guys here!

Thanks again.

Patrick