RXS is a language for the IBM mainframe platform (the IBM zOS environment). RXS is build upon another language: the REXX scripting language, using the pipeline concept as the architecture in this re-build. "Pipeline languages are the better way to make a scripting language" is the assumption behind RXS:
A scripting language is a language focused on the making of utilities for programming and systems maintenance.
A pipeline language is a language focused on handling of files. Communication between subroutines is in the form of internal files. Pipes-and-nodes languages is another name for pipeline languages.
The pipeline concept behind RXS gives the language a focus on accessing data: Doing transport of data and doing queries on data, traversing the different data stores on the mainframe (and on adjacent PC's and LAN's). The data focus of RXS includes handling of commit and rollback across all data stores.
RXS pipeline concept paves for easy handling (i.e. creation and consumption) of internal files. Internal files in RXS has a maximum record length of 16 MB compared to the maximum record length of 32 K for normal mainframe files. This facilitates RXS handling of XML, UFT-8, AFP, PDF, MQ, BLOB, HFS-files and other not-record-structured data at the mainframe.
Another motivation behind RXS is this: The REXX scripting language has been very stable for more than 15 years. Integration with mainframe resources like DB2, MQSeries, UNIX and the PC file system has been added during the years without changing REXX, resulting in a very uneven syntax. RXS addresses this problem, providing consistent abstractions of all these resources. Code generation is part of the same picture: Code generation has been added to REXX as some callable services, in RXS it is integrated.
RXS integrates with mainframe XML.
RXS is freeware. Instructions for installation of RXS and source code for download is found in the blue frame at bottom left.
The light blue frame to the left contains a linked table of content for the description of the language.
A printable version of the description is found in the blue frame at bottom left. At the end of this PDF document is an index for the language.
An introductory example is here