To execute a command procedure, precede its name with an at sign (@) as the first element on a command line:
$ @COMPILE
The example above executes the procedure COMPILE.COM in the current directory. Some other examples are:
$ @DKB400:[JONES]ACCOUNT $ @[.REPORTS]SUMMARY.COM $ @[-]SETUP
The at sign (@) has a special meaning in DCL. Its actual meaning is "begin accepting input from this location." DCL opens the file and reads its contents, interpreting each line as a command. When the end of the procedure (or an EXIT command) is reached, DCL reverts back to its previous input source, your terminal.
A command procedure may itself execute a command procedure. Consider this example:
$ ! $ ! This command procedure executes other command procedures $ ! $ @procedure1 $ @procedure2 $ exit
When the command procedure above executes, it will first execute PROCEDURE1.COM, then PROCEDURE2.COM.