Functional Directives (Magic xpi 4.1)

A functional directive is a picture character that is interpreted the same way regardless of its location in the picture. For example, in the following three pictures:

N####, ####N, ##N##

Each defines a 4-digit numeric integer variable that can hold positive and negative values.

N is the functional directive that specifies that the variable may also contain negative values. The exact location of N inside the picture string is irrelevant, as is the location of any other functional directive.

Note that all functional directives must appear in upper case.