High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! CLIST (Command List) (pronounced "C-List") is a procedural programming language for MVS/TSO systems. In its basic form, a CLIST program (or "CLIST" for short) can take the form of a simple list of commands to be executed in strict sequence (like a DOS batch file ( .bat) file). However, CLIST also features If-Then-Else logic as well as loop constructs. CLIST is an interpreted language. That is, the computer must translate a CLIST every time the program is executed. CLISTs therefore tend to be slower than programs written in compiled languages such as COBOL, FORTRAN, or PL/1. (A program written in a compiled language is translated once to create a "load module" or executable.)