The COMMAND method of the Stream class determines the state of an input or output stream object and carries out specific operations (see Section 5.2.4.9, “command”). It allows Rexx programs to open and close selected stream objects for read-only, write-only, or read and write operations, to move the read and write position within a stream object, to control the locking and buffering characteristics, and to obtain information (such as the size and the date of the last update).