A wait statement can also cause the process to wait for a specified number of seconds. The wait statement implicitly causes the system to create an event. The system causes the event after the specified time period. The actual time can be somewhat longer than the requested time, depending on the priority of the process and how busy the processor is.

The maximum time delay that a process can request is 164926 seconds (about 46 hours). If a wait statement specifies a longer period of time, the system reduces it to this maximum value.

The following ALGOL statement waits for 123 seconds:

WAIT ((123));

The WFL syntax is the same, except that only one set of parentheses is used.

In COBOL, the statement appears as follows:

WAIT UNTIL 123.