Variable types¶

At their core, all variables in Sierra Script are 16-bit values. They are untyped, meaning you can assign a number, an object, or a pointer to a buffer to the same variable. That said, it is useful to note the kinds of things that can be assigned to variables.

Number¶

A 16-bit number between -32768 and 32767.

Example:

; An immediate
(Wait 1234)

; Assigned to a variable
= someNum 1234
(Wait someNum)

Boolean¶

A TRUE or FALSE expression. This is the same as a number, but is evaluated differently. If it’s value is 0, it is a FALSE expression, otherwise it is a TRUE expression.

String¶

A string of characters. A string is a pointer to memory containing null-terminated text.

HeapPtr¶

A pointer to a block of memory. Blocks of memory can contain anything, from classes, to strings, to variables.

Examples:

; An immediate string
(Display "Hello World")

; A string variable
(string
        helloStr = "Hello World"
)
...
(Display helloString)

; A variable (local, global, var, param, property) containing a pointer to a string
= strPtr "Hello World"
(Display strPtr)

; A pointer to a variable (local, global, var, param)
(local
        [strBuf 40]
)
; then in code:
(StrCpy @strBuf "Hello World")
(Display @strBuf)

Rect¶

An array of four variables defining a rectangle

Example:

(procedure (SomeFunc &tmp [rect 4])
        (TextSize @rect)
        (= yMin [rect 0])
        (= xMin [rect 1])
        (= yMax [rect 2])
        (= xMax [rect 3])
)

Point¶

An array of two variables defining a point

Example:

(procedure (SomeFunc &tmp [point 2])
        (= y [point 0])
        (= x [point 1])
)