Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III - Page 257

APPENDIX
H
/
Glossary
address
A
location in
memory, usually
specified
as a
two-byte
hexadecimal
number.
The address
range [O
to FFFFj is
represented
in decimal as
[o to
32767]
[-32768,...,
-1].
alphabetic
Referring
strictly to the
letters A to
Z.
alphanumeric
Referring to
the set of
letters A to
Z and
the numerals
0-9
.
argument
The string
or
numeric quantity
which
is supplied
to a
function and is
then operated
on to derive a
result;
this result
is
referred to as
the value of
the
function.
array
An
organized set of
elements
which
can be
referenced
in total or
individually, using
the array
name
and one or
more
subscripts.
In BASIC,
any
variable
name can
be used to
name
an array;
and arrays
can have
one or
more
dimensions. AR( )
signifies a
one-dimensional
array
named AR;
AR(,)
signifies
a
two-dimensional
array named
AR;
etc.
ASCII
American
Standard
Code for
Information
Interchange.
This method
of
coding
is used to
store textual
data.
Numeric data
is
typically
stored in a
more
compressed
format.
BASIC
Beginners'
All-purpose
Symbolic
Instruction
Code.
binary
Having two
possible
states, e.g. ,
the
binary
digits and 1
.
The
binary
(base
2)
numbering
system uses
sequences of
zeroes
and ones to
represent
quantities.
This is
analagous to the
Computer's
internal
representation
of data, using
electrical
values
for
and
1
.
bit
Binary
digit; the
smallest
unit of
memory
in the
Computer,
capable of
representing
the values
and 1
.
break
To
interrupt
execution
of
a
program. In
BASIC the
statement STOP
causes a
break
in execution,
as
does
pressing the
(BREAK
)
key.
buffer
An area in
RAM where
data
is
accumulated for
further
processing.
byte
The
smallest
addressable
unit
of memory
in the
Computer,
consisting of 8
consecutive
bits, and
capable of
representing 256
different
values, e.g.
,
decimal
values
from
to 255
.
compressed-format
A
method of
storing
information in
less space
than
a
standard
ASCII
representation
would
require.
An
integer
always
requires two
bytes; a
single-precision
number, four;
a
double-precision
number, 8
—
regardless of how
many
characters are
required to
represent the
numbers
as text.
String
values are not
stored in
compressed
format;
each
character
requires
one
byte.
BASIC
programs in RAM
are
stored in
compressed-format,
with
all BASIC
keywords
stored
as special
one-byte
codes.
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