An OUTPUTMESSAGE ARRAY declaration declares output message arrays. An output message array contains output messages to be used by the MultiLingual System (MLS). For a description of how to use these arrays, refer to MESSAGESEARCHER Statement.

<output message array declaration>

                           ┌◄────────── , ──────────┐
── OUTPUTMESSAGE ── ARRAY ─┴─<output message array>─┴──────────────────┤

<output message array>

──<identifier>── ( ─┬───────────────────────────┬─ ) ──────────────────┤
                    │ ┌◄────────── , ─────────┐ │
                    └─┴─<output message part>─┴─┘

<output message array identifier>

An identifier that is associated with an output message array in an OUTPUTMESSAGE ARRAY declaration.

<output message part>

──<language name>─┬──────────────────────────┬─┬───────────────────┬───►
                  └─<translators̍ help text>─┘ └─<ccsversion name>─┘
►─ ( ─┬──────────────────────┬─ ) ─────────────────────────────────────┤
      │ ┌◄─────── , ───────┐ │
      └─┴─<output message>─┴─┘

<language name>

──<letter>─┬───────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
           │ ┌◄──────────────────┐ │
           └─┴─/16\─┬─<letter>─┬─┴─┘
                    └─<digit>──┘

<ccsversion name>

──<letter>─┬───────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
           │ ┌◄──────────────────┐ │
           └─┴─/16\─┬─<letter>─┬─┴─┘
                    └─<digit>──┘

<translator's help text>

── < ──<EBCDIC string constant>── > ───────────────────────────────────┤

The OUTPUTMESSAGE ARRAY declaration is part of the ALGOL interface to the MultiLingual System (MLS), which enables the user to access system messages in various natural languages, that is languages used by humans rather than machines.

Each output message array identifier must be unique throughout the entire program. This requirement is an exception to the description of the scope of identifiers given in Program Structure.

The ccsversion name identifies the ccsversion to be associated with the messages contained in the output message array. This information is used during translation of the declared output messages by the declared output messages by the MLSTRANSLATE statement to provide case-insensitivity. If unspecified, the associated ccsversion becomes the internationalized system default collating sequence.