1  WAIT
   Places a process into a wait state for the specified amount of
   time. The WAIT command is used in a command procedure to delay
   processing of either the procedure itself or a set of commands in
   the procedure.

   Format

     WAIT  delta-time
 

2  Parameter
 

delta-time

   Specifies a delta time interval in the following format. (A delta
   time is an offset from the current time to a time in the future.)

   hour:minute:second.hundredth

   The fields on the format line indicate the following:

   hour       Specifies an integer in the range 0 to 23.
   minute     Specifies an integer in the range 0 to 59.
   second     Specifies an integer in the range 0 to 59.
   hundredth  Specifies an integer in the range 0 to 99.

   The colons (:)  and period (.) are required delimiters; also, the
   delta time must begin with the number of hours and not a colon.
   Note that the days field, usually included in the delta time
   format, must be omitted here.

   For more information on specifying delta time values, refer
   to the OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic DCL_Tips
   (subtopic Date_Time).

   Note that if you enter the WAIT command interactively, you are
   not prompted for a time value; however, in order for the command
   to have any effect, you must supply a time value.
 

2  Example

 $ LOOP:
 $ RUN KUDOS
 $ WAIT 00:10
 $ GOTO LOOP

     In this example, the command procedure executes the program
     image KUDOS. After the RUN command executes the program,
     the WAIT command delays execution of the GOTO command for 10
     minutes. Note that 00 is specified for the number of hours,
     because the time specification cannot begin with a colon.
     After 10 minutes, the GOTO command executes, and the procedure
     transfers control to the label LOOP and executes the program
     KUDOS again. The procedure loops until it is interrupted or
     terminated.

     If the procedure is executed interactively, terminate it by
     pressing Ctrl/C or Ctrl/Y and by entering the STOP command
     or another DCL command that runs a new image in the process.
     If the procedure is executed in a batch job, enter the
     DELETE/ENTRY command to terminate it.