This document is complementary to the Natural documentation listed in the Language section (main documentation overview) and provides basic information essential for writing applications in Natural.

Other Related Documentation:

• First Steps - Tutorial with a series of sessions which introduce you to some of the basics of Natural programming.

• Using Natural - Tools, commands and customization options for managing Natural objects and applications.

• For information on Natural application programming interfaces (APIs), see: SYSEXT - Natural Application Programming Interfaces in the Utilities documentation.

Natural Programming Modes	Reporting mode and structured mode
Objects for Natural Application Management	Objects (for example, programs and data areas) used for Natural application management
Function Call	Definition of function calls
Field Definitions	Variable, constant and array definitions
Database Access	Natural access in an Adabas or non-Adabas database
Report Format and Control	Format and control of output report data
Further Programming Aspects	Other programming aspects: Text notation User comments Data computation Rules for arithmetic assignment Conditional processing - IF statement Logical condition criteria Loop processing Control breaks Stack processing System variables and system functions Processing of date information Processing of store clock values End of statement, program or application Processing of application errors Invoking Natural subprograms from 3GL programs Issuing operating system commands from within a Natural program
Statements for Internet and XML Access	Natural statements for internet and XML access
Portable Natural Generated Programs	Programs portable across UNIX, OpenVMS and Windows
Application User Interfaces	Natural character-based application user interfaces for dialog and screen design
Natural Native Interface	Non-Natural applications executing Natural code with C function calls.
NaturalX	Object-based programming with NaturalX components and dedicated Natural statements
Natural Reserved Keywords	List of all keywords reserved for the Natural language
Referenced Example Programs	Natural program examples referenced in the Programming Guide

Notation vrs or vr

When used in this documentation, the notation vrs or vr represents the relevant product version (see also Version in the Glossary).