DDS keywords and parameters typically consist of combinations of standard abbreviations.
All the keywords and parameters used in DDS are listed in alphabetical order as follows:
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | after |
| AB | allow blanks |
| ABS | absolute |
| ACC | access |
| ACCEL | accelerator |
| ALARM | alarm |
| ALT | alternative |
| ALW | allow |
| ARA | area |
| ATR | attributes |
| AUTO | automatic |
| AVAIL | available |
| B | before |
| BDY | boundary |
| BL | blinking field |
| BLANKS | blanks |
| BLINK | blinking cursor |
| BLK | blank |
| BOX | box |
| BTN | button |
| CA | command attention key |
| CCS | coded character set |
| CDE | code |
| CF | command function key |
| CHC | choice |
| CHG | change |
| CHK | check |
| CHR | character |
| CLR | clear |
| CLRL | clear line |
| CLS | class |
| CMD | command |
| CMP | comparison |
| CMT | commit |
| CNL | cancel |
| CNT | continued |
| CNV | conversion |
| COL | column |
| COMP | comparison |
| CON | constant |
| CONCAT | concatenate |
| CS | column separator |
| CSR | cursor |
| CTL | control |
| DAT | date |
| DEC | decimal |
| DEV | device |
| DFN | defined |
| DFR | defer |
| DFT | default |
| DLT | delete |
| DOC | document |
| DSP | display |
| DTA | data |
| DUP | duplicate |
| DWN | down |
| DYN | dynamic |
| EDT | edit |
| END | end |
| ENT | entry |
| EOS | end of session |
| EQ | equal |
| ER | end of record (same as end of field) |
| ERR | error |
| EXCLD | excluded |
| FAIL | fail |
| FCFO | first-changed first-out |
| FE | field exit |
| FIFO | first-in first-out |
| FIX | fixed |
| FLD | field |
| FLT | floating point |
| FMT | format |
| FNT | font |
| FRC | force |
| FULL | full |
| GDF | graphic data file |
| GE | greater than or equal to |
| GPH | graphics |
| GRD | grid |
| GRP | group |
| GT | greater than |
| HDG | heading |
| HI | high intensity |
| HLP | help |
| ID | identifier |
| IDX | index |
| IGC | double-byte character set (DBCS) |
| IND | indicator |
| INP | input |
| INZ | initialize |
| J | join |
| LC | lowercase |
| LCK | lock |
| LE | less than or equal to |
| LEN | length |
| LIFO | last in first out |
| LIN | line |
| LOC | location |
| LT | less than |
| LVL | level |
| MAP | map |
| MDT | modified data tag |
| ME | mandatory enter |
| MF | mandatory fill |
| MGT | management |
| MLT | multiple |
| MNU | menu |
| MOU | mouse |
| MSG | message |
| MSK | mask |
| M10 | IBM® Modulus 10 |
| M10F | IBM Modulus 10 |
| M11 | IBM Modulus 11 |
| M11F | IBM Modulus 11 |
| NBR | number |
| ND | nondisplay |
| NE | not equal to |
| NEG | negative |
| NG | not greater than |
| NL | not less than |
| NULL | null |
| NXT | next |
| OF | off |
| OID | operator identification |
| OUT | output |
| OVR | override |
| P | physical |
| PAG | page |
| PC | position cursor |
| PCN | precision |
| PFILE | physical file |
| PGM | program |
| PNL | panel |
| POS | position |
| PR | protect |
| PRG | progression |
| PRP | prepare |
| PRT | print or printer |
| PSH | push |
| PTH | path |
| Q | queue |
| QLTY | quality |
| RA | record advance |
| RAB | right-justify with blank fill |
| RAZ | right-justify with zero fill |
| RB | right-justify with blank fill |
| RCD | record |
| RCV | receive |
| RECID | record identification |
| REF | reference |
 REL |
relative |
| RET | retain |
| REV | reverse |
| RI | reverse image |
| RL | right to left |
| RLTB | right to left, top to bottom |
| RMV | remove |
| RNA | record not active |
| ROL | roll |
| RQS | request |
| RRN | relative record number |
| RSP | response |
| RST | restore |
| RTN | return |
| RTT | rotate |
| RZ | right-justify with zero fill |
| SCH | search |
| SCROLL | scroll |
| SEL | select |
| SEG | segment |
| SEP | separator |
| SEQ | sequence |
| SFL | subfile |
| SHELF | shelf |
| SIZ | size |
| SKIPA | skip after |
| SKIPB | skip before |
| SLNO | starting line number |
| SLT | select |
| SNG | single |
| SP | select by light pen |
| SPACEA | space after |
| SPACEB | space before |
| SST | substring |
| STS | status |
| SW | switch |
| SYN | sync |
| SYS | system |
| TIM | time |
| TITLE | title |
| TNS | transaction |
| TRNRND | turn around |
| TRNTBL | translation table |
| TXT | text |
| TYP | type |
| UL | underline |
| UNAVAIL | unavailable |
| USR | user |
| VAL | values |
| VAR | variable |
| VLD | valid |
| VN | validate name |
| VNE | validate name extended |
| WDW | window |
| WRD | word |
| WRT | write |