1.10.5. Implied Semicolons
The last element in a clause is the semicolon (;) delimiter. The language processor implies the semicolon at a line end, after certain keywords, and after a colon if it follows a single symbol. This means that you need to include semicolons only when there is more than one clause on a line or to end an instruction whose last character is a comma.
A line end usually marks the end of a clause and, thus, Rexx implies a semicolon at most end of lines. However, there are the following exceptions:
The line ends in the middle of a comment. The clause continues on to the next line.
The last token was the continuation character (a comma or a minus sign) and the line does not end in the middle of a comment. (Note that a comment is not a token.)
Rexx automatically implies semicolons after colons (when following a single symbol or literal string, a label) and after certain keywords when they are in the correct context. The keywords that have this effect are ELSE, OTHERWISE, and THEN. These special cases reduce typographical errors significantly.
The two characters forming the comment delimiters, /* and */, must not be split by a line end (that is, / and * should not appear on different lines) because they could not then be recognized correctly; an implied semicolon would be added.
